A Cry For Help
by amyvictoriaa
Summary: Mary & Matthew fan fiction. Mary is engaged to Sir Richard but she is still in love with Matthew & he is still in love with her. Mary goes through a lot of pain to get to where she wants to be. She gets hurt both emotionally and physically and she desperatly needs someone to notice and to help.
1. Chapter 1

_I have had loads of ideas for this new story for ages now and i've finally posted the first chapter. I really hope you enjoy the story because i really enjoyed writing it!  
>Please read and review, your reviews make my day and they encourage me to write faster :)x<br>_

_Disowner: All the characters and some of the setting from Downton Abbey belong to Julian Fellows, only the story is my own._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

During dinner, Richard had insisted that Mary sit by him, at the other side of the table from where Matthew was sitting, naturally. Matthew couldn't take his eyes off Mary and seemed oblivious to everybody and everything else that was going on in the room.

Mary so desperately wanted to look up at Matthew, just once, she thought but Sir Richard was watching her like a hawk. She thought that perhaps it was a good thing; her not being able to spend any time with Matthew, or to speak to him for that matter because she felt that if she did, she may not be able to stay away and knowing that she would have to would break her heart. No, she thought, I'm not going to look.

She turned her attention back to her plate of food but she didn't feel very hungry so she simply rolled her food around on the plate with her fork. The fact that she didn't want to be there must have been quite obvious because Sir Richard was quick to point it out.

"Mary." He whispered sharply in to her ear "You could at least pretend to be happy to be here!" he said under his breath, not wanting anybody else to hear.

Having heard what he had to say, Mary simply turned to face him, no expression whatsoever on her face, looked him in the eye and turned back to her food.

Her ignorance had made him quite angry, but knowing that he was amongst her family, he tried not to let it show.

Quite aware that Sir Richard was the cause of Mary's unhappiness, Cora decided to intervene, allowing her daughter a moment to breathe without being watched over by his beady eyes.

"Sir Richard" she began, forcing a smile on her face "you must tell us, how is everything at Haksby?"

"To be honest, the damned builders aren't working as fast as I'd like…" he replied, sounding annoyed.

He continued to complain about everything that wasn't quite going to plan at Haksby and Cora was beginning to wish she had never asked.

Knowing that his eyes were off her for the time being, thanks to her mama, Mary felt a little more relaxed. She couldn't keep her eyes off Matthew for much longer and decided to take just one look, that couldn't hurt, she thought.

Before taking a deep breath, she turned her head towards Matthew and as soon as she did, their eyes met. He must have been watching me, she thought to herself. They must have only stared at each other for a couple of seconds but to Mary it seemed like an eternity. His beautiful soft blue eyes were locked on her and for a second she held her breath and took in the wonderful moment. When she looked at him, she felt somehow liberated, like he was her path to freedom but then she felt quite sad; she had been given the choice between two paths, one that led to happiness, freedom and love and another that led to misery, fear and hatred… but of course, she had chosen the wrong one, she had been mistaken once again. Why hadn't she accepted Matthew? Why had she been so stubborn?

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand grab her wrist from under the table. She quickly looked away from Matthew and instead turned towards Richard who was staring at her, his eyes filled with anger.

Mary tried to pull her arm away from him but his grip on her only got tighter, causing her to let out a small sigh, catching Matthew's attention.

"You will stay away from him, do you hear me?" he whispered in a harsh and angry voice.

"You're hurting me." She whispered back, still trying to free her wrist from his grasp.

"Let that be a lesson to you." He replied, releasing his grip on her arm.

Mary was horrified, she didn't know where to look, she felt tears in her eyes that she could hardly hold back. This was the man she was going to marry, he was supposed to make her feel safe and happy but she didn't feel safe, she was scared, scared of her future husband and what he might do to her. Suddenly feeling quite light headed, she lifted a hand to her forehead.

"Are you quite well my dear?" Violet asked, having noticed how pale her eldest granddaughter was.

"No, not really" she replied quietly. "I'm afraid I've got a headache, would you excuse me?" she asked, standing up from her chair.

"Shall I send Anna up?" Cora asked as she watched her daughter make her way to the door.

"No, I shall be fine if I could only rest." She replied, glancing at Matthew before she left the room.

Matthew gave Richard a knowing look and took a deep breath before staring at the door that Mary had just shut behind her, wondering what Sir Richard could have done to her to make her feel this way.

When Mary arrived at her room, she pushed the door open and walked in, trembling and shaking, leaving the door half open. She lifted a hand to her mouth as she began to sob, making her way over to her bed before collapsing on it, crying into the sheets.

Once she got over the initial shock of it all, she wiped away her tears and sat up on her bed. Her wrist was hurting quite badly so she gently pulled off her glove from her left hand and threw it onto the floor in front of her. She held her wrist in the light of her lamp and began crying again when she saw what Richard had done. Her wrist was now a dark shade of blue where Richard had tightened his grip. His fingers had marked her delicate skin. She gently ran her fingers over the bruises which caused her to let out a little cry. What had she done to deserve this? She couldn't understand why he would feel the need to hurt her.

After having stared at the fire for a while, she felt quite tired and laid back down on top of the golden covers on her bed. She gently placed her bruised arm by her side and cried herself to sleep.

…

After a brandy and a cigar with Robert and Matthew, Richard decided to retire for the evening.

"I shall be leaving now, would you let Mary know I've gone?" Richard asked Robert as he stood up and smoothed his shirt down.

"Why don't you say goodnight to her yourself?" Matthew asked sounding quite angry, also standing up.

"Matthew." Robert whispered, trying to calm him down.

"His fiancée is in bed, not feeling well and he doesn't care enough to make sure she's alright!" Matthew told Robert, his voice getting considerably louder. "If she were my-"

"But she isn't – yours, is she?" Richard interrupted. "She is mine. And I would make sure that she's alright but she is in her bedroom and it isn't thought proper for an unmarried man to wonder around a lady's bedroom at night, is it?" he asked, feeling quite proud of himself for answering back.

To this Matthew couldn't respond, he was turning red with anger but he knew that Richard would have an answer to everything he said, so he decided to say nothing more.

"Goodnight." Richard said coldly as he left the room.

Both men just stared at him and watched him leave. Robert nodded at him but Matthew stood motionless. How could Mary even consider to marry a man like Richard? He wasn't even a man, he was a monster. She could do so much better…

"I'm feeling rather tired, I wonder if you'd mind if I left too?" he asked, lifting a hand to scratch his forehead.

"Of course I wouldn't, will you be back on Wednesday for the race?" Robert asked.

"The race?" Matthew asked back, not knowing what Robert was talking about.

"Yes, the horse race, didn't you know?" he inquired "It's to support the local school, a fundraiser if you will. Mary is taking part, if she is feeling well enough that is." He added.

"No, I didn't know… But yes, I will come, it seems to be for a good cause." Matthew replied, smiling at Robert.

"I know it would cheer Mary to have you there, she hasn't been herself lately…" he said, staring at Matthew and waiting for a response.

"That's probably something to do with that man she's about to marry" he said. "But I suppose I'll come, for Mary of course. Will she be riding Diamond?" he asked.

"Yes I think so." He answered.

Matthew smiled at Robert. "I must be leaving now, I wouldn't want to keep the chauffeur waiting. Goodnight." He said before leaving the room.

Just as he was about to leave, a thought came into his mind, he made sure nobody was watching him and once he knew that he was alone, he walked towards the stairs and quickly headed towards Mary's room.

When he arrived, he noticed the door was ajar. He knocked before peeping around the corner to see if she was there. He entered the room and closed the door behind him, he found her lying on top of her bed covers. He smiled to himself. The fire had gone out and it was rather chilly in her room so he decided to pull the covers over her.

As he got closer to her, he noticed the bruising on her wrist. Richard, was his first thought. I'll kill him, he thought to himself. Why would he want to hurt something so delicate and beautiful? It made him see red.

He crouched down by Mary's side and gently pulled the covers from under her causing her to stir.

"Matthew?" she asked, in a low innocent voice.

"I thought I'd come see how you were feeling." He replied, just as innocently.

"Oh" she said, lifting a hand to her head. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you." She said, pushing herself up in to a sitting position and smiling at Matthew.

"I'm glad to hear it" he said quietly. "But your wrist… what happened?" he asked.

"Oh… I" she began, pulling her arm up and covering it with her other hand, hoping that he wouldn't see it. "It was silly of me really… I …" not knowing what to say, she searched for an answer.

"It was him, wasn't it?" he asked, staring her in the eye.

She let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't lie to him. She swallowed and closed her eyes before nodding her head. "Yes…"

"I knew it. Has he hurt you before? If he has I swear I'll-" but before he could finish his sentence, Mary cut him off.

"No, this was the first time, I promise." She replied shyly, staring past him into thin air. "But… he, he said that if he ever caught me with you again that, well that I would pay…" she whispered, turning to face him again.

Having heard this, Matthew felt like going after Sir Richard and hurting him just as much as he had hurt Mary. He despised him so much.

"That's it, you cannot stay with this man, you must sack Carlisle." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't Matthew! You know I can't…" she replied, tears forming in her eyes. "You must leave, before somebody finds you here." She said, wiping her eyes dry.

"I'm not leaving until I know you'll be alright." He answered stubbornly.

"Well then you'll be waiting a long time, I'm afraid. I'm not sure I'll ever be alright, not when I'm destined to spend the rest of my life with that man." She replied, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't say that" he said, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Why not?! It's true! I'm destined to a life of misery!" she began. "You see, ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamt of marrying for love, and not for money or a position. All I have ever wanted is for someone, anyone, to love me and make me feel safe and happy and free." She said, smiling. "But now, I know that my dreams will never come true, and that it's time to wake up." She added, closing her eyes in disbelief.

"Don't ever say that, because part of your dream already has come true hasn't it?" he said, leaving her to guess what he meant.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"You said that all you have ever wanted was for someone to love you, and Mary, my darling, I do." He whispered, taking her hand in his.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, the man that she had loved for so long had just told her that he loved her back. He had called her darling. She had been longing for this day for so long, for the day that Matthew Crawley declared his love for her and called her darling. And he just had. Suddenly she felt so happy, he had just made her dreams come true.

"You love me?" she asked, staring into his – now dark – blue eyes.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. When I saw you for the very first time, my heart nearly melted, I never knew that anybody could be so perfect, your eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen and your smile…" he said, staring into thin air and smiling "when you smile, I become oblivious to everything going on around me because your smile lights up the room." He whispered.

Mary took in everything he had just said and smiled the biggest smile she had ever smiled. She had butterflies in her tummy, she couldn't help the tears of joy that were rolling down her rosy cheeks, she felt so happy, so very happy.

But then she remembered. Her smile suddenly turning into a frown.

"Why does it all have to be so complicated?" she asked, closing her eyes and sighing.

"It doesn't have to be, sack Carlisle and marry me." He said, as if it were that simple.

"You know I can't Matthew, don't make it little when it is not." She replied in a sad voice.

"I'm sorry" he said, thinking of what he could say.

Mary didn't know what to say, the man she had loved for as long as she could remember and just told her he felt the same way about her but she knew she had to marry Richard… Or did she?...

"I'd better be leaving, I wouldn't want anybody to find me up here and get the wrong impression." He said as he straightened his composure.

"Wait." She said, grabbing his hand as he turned his back to her.

Matthew stopped and turned back around to face her, not knowing what she wanted.

"Don't leave me." She whispered, staring up into his eyes.

"Mary, I must, I cannot be found in your room." He replied, a sad expression on his face as he set off walking towards the door.

"Matthew, please". She said, jumping out of bed and following him.

Matthew turned around again, wondering what it was she wanted.

"Stay." She whispered as she walked closer to him.

"You know I can't, what about propriety? As much as I would like to stay, I must refuse, you are engaged Mary and until you sack Carlisle, I think it best if we don't see much of each other, for your own sake." He replied. That was one of the hardest things he had ever had to say, he couldn't bear to hurt her.

"Not being with you is killing me, Matthew, I don't know how much more I can take…" she said, staring at the floor. "I'm seeing Richard on Wednesday, at the race, I will sack him then." She said, having come to a decision.

"Mary, are you sure?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"I love you, Matthew, I cannot marry a man that I do not love." She answered, looking up at him.

Matthew took a deep breath before taking another step forward so that he was standing so close to Mary that he could feel her warm breath against his own lips.

Mary swallowed when she realized how close she was to him. She couldn't focus on anything but his lips. She wanted nothing more than for him to take her into his arms and kiss her. She felt her heart beating faster and faster in her chest and for a minute, she held her breath.

Matthew so desperately wanted to kiss her, he wanted her to be his so that he could protect her from people like Carlisle. He could feel his whole body tingling, her lips looked so pink and soft.

Without thinking, he took a deep breath, leaned forward and pressed a kiss warm to her lips. They felt just as soft as he thought they would, he never wanted to stop kissing her, it felt so right.

Mary closed her eyes and tried to make the perfect moment last for as long as she could. She felt as though she were in heaven. Earlier that day, she had been living a nightmare but now, all her dreams were coming true.

Matthew pulled away from her and stared into her deep brown eyes.

Mary hadn't wanted him to stop kissing her, she felt cold without him so close to her. Her lips were tingling as though they were asking for more.

"Mary, are you sure this is what you want?" he asked.

"I have never been more positive about anything in my life." She whispered.

Without saying another word, Matthew took her into his arms and pressed kiss after kiss to her soft lips before sweeping her off her feet into his arms and carrying her over to the bed.

"Mary, my darling" he said softly, looking down into her eyes "I promise you that you _will _marry for love. And I promise you that make you feel safe and happy and free and most of all I promise to love you, I will love you until I die and if there is a life after that, I will love you then. I promise to make all your dreams come true." He whispered.

"Matthew, my dreams already have, you are my dream." She replied, looking up at him with love in her eyes.

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><p><em>That's all for the first chapter, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought of it, your reviews really help and they encourage me to write the chapters quicker and post them quicker.<em>

_In the next chapter: Mary tries to sack Carlisle but it may go badly for Mary as the horse race takes a turn for the worst. And Mary has something to tell Matthew._


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter but I spilt water all over my computer and the keyboard no longer worked so I had to have it repaired but now that I have finally posted it, i really hope you enjoy reading it!_

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 2:<strong>

Anna was helping Mary get ready for the race, she had just made the finishing touches to her outfit before putting on her hat.

Once she was dressed, she sat down in front of her dressing table mirror, and stared at herself for a moment, before closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths.

"Are you sure you're alright, milady?" asked the concerned maid.

"I know that I will be, by the end of the day hopefully, does that count?" she asked, turning to face her maid.

Anna simply looked at her and smiled "are you ready then?" she asked, picking up some of Mary's clothes.

"As ready as I'll ever be" she replied, taking another breath, "I know what I have to do" she added before making her way to the door.

"Good luck" Anna whispered before both women left the room.

Mary gracefully made her way downstairs, going over everything she had to do and say in her head, making her feel quite dizzy and nervous.

Matthew had been waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, hoping to have a quiet talk with her about what had happened the other night.

"Matthew!" she said, surprised to see him waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello" he said with a smile on his face, "can we talk?" he whispered.

"As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you too" she replied.

"Oh?" he asked curiously.

"Can we go somewhere a little quieter?" she replied, gesturing towards the library. "Sir Richard isn't around is he?" she asked, looking over her shoulder before entering the room.

"I believe he is already on the racing ground, no doubt trying to find somebody to argue with." he joked, but he noticed that the expression on Mary's face was a much more serious one.

Mary simply nodded and stared into thin air, wondering what to say. She walked over to the fireplace, closely followed by Matthew.

"Mary, what is it?" he asked, feeling a little worried.

"Matthew, I... well, as you know, I am going to sack Sir Richard today and..." she began, trying to think what she could say next.

"Yes, I know, and I promise that when you do, I will be here for you, to support you and look after you." he interrupted.

"Well that's just it..." she began again.

As she was trying to get the right words out of her mouth, Sir Richard came through the front door, looking for her. Just as he was about to call her name, he heard her voice, but she wasn't alone, oh of course she wasn't alone, she was with him. Richard was furious, how many times had he warned her to stay away from him? Why wouldn't she listen?

Mary and Matthew's conversation intrigued him so he walked towards the library and discretely opened the door, just enough so that he could hear everything they were saying. He stood there, listening to every word of their conversation, his face turning red with anger.

"Once I sack Richard, I need to be sure that you will stand by me, not only because of my foolishness with Pamuk, but also because..." she hesitated not knowing how to tell him the next part. Taking a deep breath, she began "because, Matthew, I.. I think that I might be pregnant." Having said everything she had wanted to say, she felt a little more relaxed and she sat down on the couch by the fire.

Had he heard her right? Did she say 'pregnant'? Matthew's face turned a little pale and he was left speechless. What had they done? He knew that he needed to say something but he couldn't quite get the words to leave his mouth.

"Pregnant?" he replied, stunned. He took a seat next to her, turned to face her and took her hands in his. Looking into her sad, brown eyes, he soon came up with a solution "If you are pregnant, then I promise to stand by you. I will not abandon you Mary. Everything will be alright, I promise." he replied, trying to reassure her before taking her into his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm scared, Matthew..." she whispered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

Pulling away from her, he took her hands in his again and looked her in the eye "Listen to me, Mary" he began, squeezing her hands a little tighter, "Brake with Richard this afternoon and once you have announced it, I will ask for Robert's permission to marry you. We could get married in spring; it's only a month and a half away and then, everything will be perfectly alright." he said, always having an answer for everything.

"Oh Matthew, I'm so sorry for putting you in this situation" she replied, wiping her tears away. "It's all my fault, why does everything always go so terribly wrong?" she asked, sobbing.

"Don't worry my darling, you have nothing to be sorry for." he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know that this wasn't planned and that it _is_ quite inconvenient but apart from that, I couldn't be happier." he said, moving his hand down to rest on her tummy.

Mary looked up at him and smiled before putting her hand over his and stroking it gently. "Thank you" she whispered. "I just hope everything goes to plan with Richard..."

Having heard all this, Richard was furious. She's going to regret this, he thought to himself, making a fist. He felt like screaming. He stormed off and made his way outside. Suddenly an idea came to him and he set off walking in the direction of the stables.

"I must go find Sir Richard" she said, standing up. "I'd rather just get it over with." she added, making her way to the door.

"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked, feeling even more protective of her now than before.

"No." She replied, looking into thin air. "This is something I must do on my own." she added, turning to face Matthew, looking quite nervous.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You know how angry he gets and if he tries to hurt you-"

"He won't" she said, cutting him off and shaking her head.

"You can't know that for sure Mary, and now that there's the baby..." he said, looking down at her tummy and back up to meet her eyes.

"I'll talk to him in the field, just before the race, it will be crowded and he wouldn't dare lay a hand on me in public. He would never do anything to threaten his reputation." she replied, making Matthew feel a little more at ease.

"You go out first" he said, opening the door for her, "I'll leave after you, just in case Sir Richard is watching."

Mary nodded before leaving the room.

"Mary." he called after her, "good luck." he whispered.

Mary smiled appreciatively at him and headed outside.

"Milady, Sir Richard has been looking for you." Anna said, sounding rather out of breath as she ran towards Mary. "The race is about to start and apparently Diamond isn't up to racing so Sir Richard has found you another horse."

"Oh, I see..." she replied. "Thank you, Anna, for letting me know. Do you know where I might find him?" she asked.

"He's down by the track with your horse milady" she answered.

Mary nodded in appreciation and walked towards the track where she found Richard waiting for her. She had mixed feelings about talking to him, she was terrified of his reaction, causing her hands to shake which she tried to hide but she also knew that once she had told him, she would be free of him and she could finally be with Matthew... Just the thought of him made her smile.

"Ah, there you are, I have looked everywhere for you" he said, hiding his anger. "Flinch tells me that Diamond has a bad leg and that she is in no fit state to race, so I called my stable hand and found you this horse." he said as Mary approached him.

Mary was surprised that Flinch hadn't personally told her that Diamond was lame, he normally did... She walked up to the horse to stroke its nose but as she did it stepped backwards a flinched, causing Mary to jump a little.

"It's nothing to worry about" he began "he has been in the horse box all day, once he has stretched his legs he should be fine." he reassured her, a little grin on his face.

"What is he called?" she asked, turning away from the horse to face Richard.

"Storm." he replied, a strict look on his face.

"Ah" she answered before remembering what she had to do. "Richard, I wonder if I might have a word?" she asked, griping her hands behind her back to stop her hands from shaking.

"Of course, but the race is about to start, you wouldn't walk to be late, would you?" he replied, getting madder and madder. Just looking at her made him see red, oh but she would pay this time. If she thinks she can make a fool out of me and get away with it, she's got another thing coming, he thought to himself.

Feeling annoyed with herself for not having told him, she led her horse towards the starting line.

Looking around and noticing that Matthew wasn't there yet, made Richard feel quite content. This should be fun, he thought, watching Mary as she mounted the horse.

Matthew decided that it was safe to leave the house and he headed towards the race. He could hear the villagers cheering so he knew it was about to start. He walked a little faster so that he could be there when the race began. As he got closer he could see the participants on their horses but he couldn't see Diamond, he then thought he saw Mary but noticed that she was on a different horse. Robert must have got it wrong, he thought. Just then, he heard Anna shouting him which intrigued him so he decided to go see what it was that she wanted.

"Mr. Crawley" she said. "I know it isn't really my place to say but Sir Richard told us that Lady Mary's horse, Diamond was injured which meant that she couldn't ride her in the race..." she began.

"Ah, so that explains why she is riding a different horse." he replied, smiling at the young maid.

"Yes, but, that's just it, you see Mr. Flinch has just been up to the house to ask why Lady Mary hasn't been down to the stables for Diamond." she said.

"You mean to say that there is nothing wrong with her horse?" he asked, confused.

"No, nothing at all" she replied. "She seems a lot healthier than the horse Lady Mary is about to ride." she added.

"But then why on earth would Sir Richard make it up? Unless... Anna, where has Lady Mary's new horse come from?" he asked, starting to feel concerned.

"Sir Richard sent for it, I think but..." seeing the worried expression on Matthew's face, Anna stopped talking.

"Oh god!" he whispered. "I've got to get down there!" he said, just before running down to where the race was taking place but to his horror when he arrived, he noticed that the race had already begun.

"Wait! What is it?" she asked, running after him but he realizing he wasn't going to stop, she slowed down and followed him, feeling in some way involved and starting to feel quite concerned.

Mary was loving being back in the saddle – she hadn't ridden for weeks – but although the experience was exhilarating, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable on this horse, he seemed rather jumpy and nervous. Sir Richard had told her that Storm would eventually settle down after stretching his legs and that his nervousness was due to the fact he had been boxed up all day but she was starting to wonder if what Richard had said wasn't entirely the truth, somehow something didn't feel right.

She was just coming up to the line, marking her first lap when Storm started violently throwing his head up and down, causing Mary to lose concentration. Her eyes opened wider as she began to feel rather worried. She somehow managed to slow the horse down a little, losing her the leading position.

"Calm down now, it's alright" she whispered to the horse, leaning forward to pat its neck before encouraging the animal to pick up some more speed as she didn't intend on giving up the race.

As she passed the crowd again, she caught a glimpse of Matthew who had made his way to the barrier and seemed to be calling her name.

"Mary!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Stop the horse!" he cried but before he could say anymore she had already passed him and was gaining more speed as her horse galloped down the hill, catching up to the others contestants.

Sir Richard was stood enjoying the race by the stands, he was surprised at how well Mary had handled the little incident but he was almost sure that there was more to come so he simply sat back with a drink in his hand and waited for something to happen.

Anna had just arrived and feeling rather thirsty she walked over to the drinks stand close to where Sir Richard was talking to his valet, they seemed to be having a good time, Sir Richard hadn't stopped smiling. Intrigued by what they could possibly be talking about, the young maid picked up a drink of water and discretely moved closer to the two men, listening to their conversation without being too obvious.

"You can't know for sure that the horse will bolt though, can you sir?" she heard the naïve valet ask which only intrigued her more, what were they talking about? she wondered.

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong" he replied with an obvious grin on his face. "'Storm' is an ex race horse that stopped racing in 1919 when the chap riding him was killed after being thrown from the horse's back and trampled on. No one really knew what made it react the way it did. It has only been ridden once since the accident and that was by an expert stable hand who was also injured… Therefor I know for a fact that Lady Mary will not get off that horse safely." He informed him proudly.

"Are you quite sure about this, Sir? It sounds… dangerous..." he answered after hearing what Sir Richard had to say.

"Oh I am" he replied without hesitating, "I put my reputation on the line for that woman and she repaid me by sneaking behind my back in order to seduce Mr. Crawley. She isn't going to get away with this, I assure you."

Having listened to everything Sir Richard had to say, Anna couldn't believe what she had just heard. She spilt her glass of water and walked off in search of Matthew.

"Mr. Crawley!" she shouted as she made her way to the front of the crowd, towards the barrier where he was standing.

"Anna, we must stop the race, I don't know what exactly but I do know that something isn't right, Sir Richard has done something and-" but before he could finish, the young maid cut him off.

"It's Sir Richard" she whispered before sighing and telling Matthew everything she had just heard.

"I knew it… the bastard." He said under his breath. "I don't know what to do." he said, looking up at the maid in hope of an answer.

"Nor do I." she replied, looking down at the ground, hoping something would pop into her head.

Mary was now in second position and she could see the finish line ahead, she was so close to overtaking the leader so she decided to push the horse just a little bit more, determined to win the race.

As she began to overtake the horse in front, she felt the wind blowing through her hair under her hat, this is freedom, she thought to herself. She took a long deep breath as she took her place as leader once again and prepared to cross the finish line.

Matthew and Anna could only watch and hope that Mary would finish the race safely, without any devastating accidents.

As she crossed the finish line, Mary relaxed a little, loosening her grip on the reins. The crowd cheered and horns started to go off, marking the end of the race but hearing the noise, the horse started to feel anxious and noticing the sudden change of behavior in the horse, Mary started to feel a little tense, her grip on the reins immediately tightened and only seconds later, as predicted the horse began bolting.

Mary hung on to the reins and to the horse's main as she felt herself slipping. Her heart began beating considerably faster and she felt rather sick. Just then, the horse set off in the direction of the crowd, stopped in front of the barrier and reared up, violently stamping his hooves.

The crowd took a step backwards, protecting themselves from the – out of control – animal. Matthew ran towards the horse, shouting at Mary to jump. He could see how scared she was, the fear was clearly visible in her eyes. He had only seen that fear once before, during the war when he had been injured, the moment he had regained consciousness, he had stared up at her, into her deep brown eyes, and he saw fear, the fear of losing him, of never seeing him again and he saw that same fear in her eyes as she looked down at him just then.

A sudden bolt of adrenaline ran through him at that very moment as he jumped over the fence and made his way over to where the horse was trying to throw Mary off its back.

"Matthew, what are you doing?!" she cried. "Get out of the way!" she shouted again, trying to direct the horse away from him.

Seeing all the crowd gathering together, Robert and Cora made their way from under the marquis to where everyone seemed to be gathered.

"What on earth is going on?" Robert asked as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, closely followed by his wife.

The minute Cora saw her eldest daughter clinging on to the horse for dear life, she gasped and froze, she didn't know what to do.

"Good god!" Robert exclaimed, not knowing what to do for the best either. "Matthew get away from there!" he shouted as he ducked under the barrier and quickly but carefully walked over to where Matthew was standing.

"Papa, please no!" she shouted down, not wanting her father to get hurt.

"Robert, please get back behind the fence." Matthew said, laying a hand on his shoulder and gently pushing him away. "Mary, jump from the horse." He shouted back up to her.

"I am not jumping from this horse!" she shouted back stubbornly. But just as she had finished speaking, the horse unexpectedly reared up again, throwing her up off of its back.

The crowd seemed to stop talking, for a second there was no sound. Everybody stood, open-mouthed and watched as she fell. It almost seemed to be happening in slow motion. Cora nearly fainted at the site and Robert watched wide-eyed.

As she fell, she let out a cry that nearly broke Matthew's heart. When her body hit the ground, time seemed to speed up again and the crowd's gasps filled the air.

"Mary!" Matthew shouted, terrified as he watched her fragile body crash to the ground. He instinctively dropped to the ground by her side and turned her body over so that he could see her face.

Robert ran towards them and bent over his daughter to gently stroke her pale cheek. "God…" he said, realizing what had just happened.

Matthew lifted her head to rest on his lap and stroked her hair away from her face. "Mary, wake up" he whispered but she didn't respond. Mary was all he cared about now and even though hundreds of people were stood watching over him, including the Earl of Grantham, he couldn't hide his affections for her any longer.

"Mary, my darling, if you can hear me please open your eyes." He whispered again, a little closer to her face this time before pressing a warm, gentle kiss to her forehead.

Robert watched in astonishment, the heir to his estate had just kissed his eldest daughter who happened to be engaged! Where was Sir Richard anyway? He thought. What was going on in front of him was clearly wrong but seeing how much love Matthew had in his eyes for Mary; he decided not to say anything about it. Matthew obviously loved Mary far more than Richard Carlisle ever could.

"Mary, please" Matthew said once again, taking her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips to press another kiss on the back of it.

Just then he felt her fingers move and her eyes slowly opened.

"Thank god." Robert said, under his breath. "I'll go get Clarkson" he told them as he patted Matthew on the shoulder before getting up, straightening his composure and walking back into the crowd.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, feeling a little confused as to why everyone was gathered around, staring at her.

"Your horse reared up and threw you off of its back, how do you feel?" he asked.

"My head rather hurts" she said in a groggy voice, lifting a hand to her forehead before attempting to sit up.

Remembering that she was carrying their child, Matthew suddenly froze. "And how.. how is the baby" he asked discretely, lowering his voice.

Mary instinctively placed a hand on her tummy, then she looked up at Matthew for a second, "I'm not sure" she replied in a scared voice, "how would I know?" she asked, before taking a deep breath.

"Well, are you hurting anywhere?" he asked shyly.

"No, apart from my head, I feel alright." She answered.

"That's a good sign then." He said, relieved. "Let me take you somewhere a little more comfortable" he said, scooping her up off the floor, into his arms and carrying her over to the marquis.

"Thank you" she whispered as he sat her down on a large chair with pillows to support her back.

"I'll get you some water, are you sure you feel alright?" he asked again, he couldn't help but worry about her, he loved her.

"I'll be just fine." She replied with an appreciative smile on her face.

"A storm-braver if ever I saw one" he whispered before pressing yet another warm kiss to her forehead. She looked up and smiled fondly at him.

"Goodness, Mary, what happened to you?" Sybil asked as she came and sat by her eldest sister, accompanied by Tom and Edith.

"I had quite a bad fall, that's all" she replied, turning to face her sister and putting on a brave face.

Just then Sir Richard walked over to them, feeling angrier than ever, all he had done was drive them closer together.

"What a cozy scene" he said sarcastically. "It seems you had rather a lucky escape." He continued, staring at Mary.

Hearing his voice, Matthew turned around to face him.

"This was you, wasn't it?" he asked, walking over to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Richard replied, a smug grin on his face.

"Don't pretend you didn't have anything to do with this" Matthew begun, "you knew exactly what would happen and you still let Mary, _your fiancée_, get on to that horse." He said.

"It isn't my fault she can't control her own horse!" he replied, looking over at Mary and laughing to himself. He could see how angry Matthew was getting and he found it quite amusing.

"You bastard!" Matthew shouted before punching his rival to the ground.

"Matthew!" Mary screamed, trying to stop the fight.

"Stop this at once!" Robert shouted, sounding disappointed in Matthew, he knew what Sir Richard was like, but Matthew was better than this.

Both men stopped fighting and Matthew slowly got up from the floor, straightening his shirt and jacket. Richard looked rather embarrassed, his face was bright red and when he stood up he noticed that everybody was watching him.

"Wh… What is going on here?" Violet asked as she made her way through the crowd towards her son.

"I am leaving now, I doubt we'll meet again." Richard said as he turned to face the older woman.

"Do you promise?" she asked, a cheeky grin on her face.

Richard straightened his composure, gave Mary one last glance and turned his back on them all, disappearing into the crowd.

Just as they were watching Sir Richard leave, Sybil shouted for her Papa.

"Quick Papa, something's wrong with Mary!" she shouted, sounding rather worried.

"Mary dear what is it?" Robert asked his daughter as he walked over to her.

Matthew ran towards Mary and knew straight away what was wrong. "Get Clarkson!" he ordered. Mary was clutching her tummy and taking deep breaths.

"What's wrong with her?" Edith asked after seeing how much pain her sister was in.

"Matthew" Mary whispered as she gave him a knowing look before screaming out in pain again.

"I'm sorry my darling, I must tell them." He replied, feeling scared and nervous himself. He took a deep breath before telling everyone the truth, he knew that once he did, Mary's reputation would be ruined and Robert would be absolutely furious with him but he had to tell them, Mary and his baby were much more important to him than his reputation, he couldn't lose them.

"She's pregnant." He said, looking back at Mary with apologetic eyes.

"What?!" Robert shouted, looking down at his eldest daughter who had in some way betrayed him.

Everyone else just froze for a minute, taking in the news, forgetting how much pain Mary was in.

"Where's Clarkson?!" Matthew shouted as he tried to comfort Mary the best he could. "I promised you that everything would be alright, and it will, you've got to trust me and be strong for me Mary, okay?" he told her before taking her hand in his and squeezing it tightly.

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><p><em>End of Chapter 2, i hope you enjoyed reading. I know I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger but the chapter would have been to heavy and too long if I had continued but i promise to update as fast as i can! As usual please leave reviews, they encourage me to write better and post faster.<em>

_Thank you so much for reading, please feel free to send me suggestions or ideas for the next chapter or simply to improve this one :)x_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry it's taken me a while to write chapter 3, this is a challenging story for me to write and I hope you think I'm doing okay so far, please leave your reviews, they really encourage me and I'd love to know what you think so far!_

_I hope you enjoy it._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter<strong> **3:**

Matthew had picked Mary up and taken her back to the house as quickly as he could, followed by Dr. Clarkson and the rest of the family.

Robert was still very clearly in shock but he knew that he had to do something and fast if he were to stop the news from getting out, causing a scandal not only for Mary but for the whole family. Cora and Sybil were surprised, of course they were, after all Mary had gone to bed with a man other than her fiancée and was now carrying his child but the most important things on their minds were Mary's safety and health.

"I'm taking her up to her room." Matthew said, turning around to face the others as he arrived at the house with Mary in his arms, still cradling her tummy. By now she was in much more pain than before.

"No. Don't you think you've done enough without going up to her room with her again?!" Robert shouted, an angry expression on his face. "Give her to me." He ordered as he took his daughter from Matthew's arms and carried her upstairs.

Matthew had never seen Robert so angry, he didn't want to leave Mary to go through all this on her own but he had no choice, Robert wasn't going to let him anywhere near her now. What had he done? Feeling worried and rather annoyed, he walked over to the library by himself to calm down.

"Matthew." Sybil called out sympathetically as he walked past her but he just ignored her and carried on walking towards the library.

"Leave him for a while." Tom whispered to his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder. If anybody could understand how Matthew felt, it was Tom. He had been through almost exactly the same thing, although his affair was a little more scandalous given the fact he was Sybil's chauffeur long before becoming her husband.

"I can't believe it." Edith confessed under her breath. All along she had thought that Sybil was the only rebel in their family but it turns out she was wrong. Although Mary wasn't her favorite person in the world, she knew that this didn't seem like her, it wasn't like her to not think things through, she was usually the most precautious in the family.

"I'm going to see how she is." Cora decided. "I suppose somebody should keep an eye on Matthew, just in case he decides to do anything stupid, other than what he has already done, I mean." she said before making her way to Mary's room, leaving Tom, Sybil and Edith to take care of Matthew.

When Cora arrived in front of Mary's bedroom door, she knocked and waited for an answer. Robert opened the door and joined her outside of the room.

"How is she?" Cora asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure, Clarkson is examining her as we speak." He replied, stroking his brow.

"Poor darling…" she said under her breath. "She's been through so much lately, what with Sir Richard and all… but I'm glad he's gone now, I didn't like him…" she confessed, looking up at Robert with sad eyes.

"Why she has put herself in this situation, I cannot tell you… What was she thinking?!" he asked, raising his voice slightly.

Cora sighed before looking her husband in the eye. "A year ago we practically tried to push Mary into marrying Matthew and now that they have finally shared their feelings for one another we're trying to keep them apart…" she said, wondering when everything had gone wrong.

"Indeed…" he replied, staring into thin air. "Why couldn't they have just done it the proper way?" he asked.

"I agree but now that it had happened, we must face the facts; they love each other and I love Mary and as her mother I will support her even if you do not."  
>Cora said, having made her decision.<p>

"I need time to think, I still cannot get my head round it… I'm going to have to talk to Matthew, where is he?" he asked.

"He's in the library, but go easy on him Robert." She said, smiling a sad smile.

As Cora made her way into Mary's bedroom, Robert headed towards the library, looking for Matthew.

Meanwhile, Tom had followed Matthew into the library and had been trying to calm him down.

"I know now it seems like the worst has happened but it will get better. I can remember the very moment Sybil and I announced we were getting married  
>When I finally walked into the drawing room and stood by Sybil's side in front of you all and spoke of our intentions, I had never felt so scared. I was almost certain the family would never talk to me again but, in time, they did… Even after Sybil got pregnant, you all stood by us, against all odds and for that I am grateful and I can tell you that it will take time, but things will work out." He said, taking a seat opposite Matthew and offering him a glass of brandy.<p>

"I hope you're right..." He replied, taking the glass from Tom's hands.

Just then came a knock at the door and both men stood up.

"Matthew?" Robert asked in a loud voice.

Tom gave Matthew an encouraging look before standing up and patting him on the shoulder.

"Good look." He said as he made his way to the door, passing Robert on his way out.

Matthew took a deep breath and straightened his composure as Robert made his way over to where he was standing.

"Robert, how is she?" he asked, putting his drink down on the table beside him.

"I'm not too sure at the minute." He replied, sounding angry and upset.

"And the baby?" he asked nervously, praying that it was still alive. He hadn't wanted to ask but he had to know.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to ask Clarkson, I don't know much more than you do on that subject." He answered in a harsh tone.

Matthew sat back down and stared into thin air, his head in his hands, wondering what Robert was going to say.

"During the last seven years, I have got to know you and I have grown to love you as a son but what you have done is unforgivable, you have betrayed my trust in you and the one thing I would like to know, is why?" Robert asked curiously as he stared down at Matthew.

Matthew lifted his head up to face Robert, no words could have hurt him more, he was angry at himself for having disappointed the closest thing he had to a father.

Matthew took a deep breath before answering. "I love her. Carlisle treated her like she meant nothing to him, she was just there to make him look good as far as he was concerned, he never loved her, not in the way I do." he replied honestly, looking away from Robert.

"Even so, what even made you think it was okay to join Mary in her room?" he asked, raising his voice a little.

"It was the night of the dinner party. Carlisle controlled Mary's every move and I think at one point she may have.. well, she looked over at me and he must have grabbed her wrist or something because afterwards it was bruised rather badly, that's when she left the room…" he began, trying to remember what had happened.

Robert sighed when he heard that Richard had been hurting his daughter, he hadn't known…

"Once the guests had retired for the evening, I went up to her room – but only to see how she was feeling, I swear, I didn't have any other intentions – I just needed to know that she was alright before I left." He continued. "But when I arrived in her bedroom, she was rather upset and she seemed afraid, he did that to her, she was afraid of him. That's what made me decide to stay longer, she needed somebody to listen, she has been looking for somebody to talk to for rather a long time so I listened." He said, nervously awaiting Robert's response.

Robert didn't really know what to say after such a speech, Matthew clearly loved her very much but that wasn't a good enough excuse.

"She was engaged to Richard Carlisle!" He shouted. "And now that he knows about your affair, we will be a house of scandal yet again!" he said, getting angrier and angrier.

"I'm sorry, but it just happened and-"

"It just happened?!" He repeated. "I trusted you Matthew… You repaid me by going to bed with another man's fiancée! My eldest daughter! She was going to marry Carlisle for god's sake!" he shouted, his face turning red with anger.

"He tried to kill her!" he shouted back, overcome with anger.

Had Robert just heard right? He suddenly stopped shouting and calmed down a little.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Matthew hadn't meant to tell him about that, it had just slipped out when he was caught up in the anger.

He took another deep breath before answering. "He let Mary ride that horse because he knew for a fact that it would react the way it did, there was never anything wrong with Diamond…" he said quietly.

Having heard this, Robert took a seat on the couch opposite Matthew. He was Mary's father and she had been going through so much and he hadn't even noticed… He was speechless.

Just then, Carson walked in, interrupting the conversation.

"Dr. Clarkson is leaving M'lord." He announced.

Matthew jumped up from the couch, hoping to finally find out how Mary and the baby were.

Both men made their way into the hall where they found Dr. Clarkson and the rest of the family.

"How is she?" Matthew asked, he couldn't think about anything else but her.

"Better." He replied. "She will need a lot of rest though I'm afraid."

Matthew and Robert both sighed in relief.

"What about… the baby?" Matthew asked quietly, not wanting to bring up the subject.

"For now, everything seems perfectly normal, they were both very lucky." He answered.

"Thank you Clarkson." Robert said as he accompanied him to the door.

"You will need to keep a close eye on Lady Mary, everything seems normal at the minute but after such an accident, she could still lose the baby." He added.

"I'm sure we'll look after her." Matthew said, causing Robert to give him an angry look.

Later on in the evening, the family were sat around the fire enjoying each others company after dinner.

"I'll catch the 9 o'clock train tomorrow morning to London to hopefully persuade Carlisle not to publish this story. We have been a house of scandal once before and I will not have that happen again." Robert told Cora, having made a decision.

"Will you ask Murray for his help?" Cora asked.

"I think I might have to, I will have to explain the whole situation to him though." he replied, lifting a hand to stroke his brow.

"Can we trust him?" she asked, standing up and walking over to the fire without taking her eyes off Robert.

"I believe we can, he has worked with this family for years." he answered before taking a sip of brandy.

Just then, the door opened and Mary walked in.

Robert turned around to see who it was and jumped up from his seat when he saw Mary appear from behind the door.

"What are you doing down here? You're meant to be in bed." he told his daughter as he made his way over to her to guide her out.

"No, Papa, i'm fine, honestly. I need to speak with Matthew but seeing as you insisted he didn't come to my room, I've come down." she said stubbornly, looking over her father's shoulder for Matthew.

"Well he's gone back to Crawley House for the night." he replied coldly.

"Well then I shall see him tomorrow, you won't keep me away from him Papa." she said, unconsciously placing a hand on her tummy.

"As I told your Mama, I am going up to London tomorrow to try to stop Carlisle from turning us into a house of scandal. After that, I will work out what to do about the baby." he said coldly, trying to avoid looking his daughter in the eyes.

"What do you mean? I am keeping the baby." she replied as if it were obvious, resting her other hand on her tummy and taking a step backwards.

"You're not seriously considering keeping the child, are you?!" he asked, raising his voice.

"Robert, calm down, let her rest. We'll talk again tomorrow once we have all had a good nights rest." Cora interviened, walking up to Robert and placing a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Oh of course." Mary began, tears in her eyes "What is it your always say Mama? Everything will look better in the morning!" she said sarcasticly. "I'm feeling rather tired so if you'll excuse me, I shall go back to bed." she added before making her way out of the room.

Robert looked at her as if he didn't recognise her anymore.

"And I'm sorry Papa but I won't change my mind, you may try all you like but you won't take our child away from us." she said sadly before leaving the room.  
>Robert stood and stared at the door for a moment, regretting losing his temper with her before Cora guided him back to the couch in front of the warm fire.<br>"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" he asked his wife, looking for an answer.

"I think that you're doing the best you can to keep this family together and clear of scandal." she replied with a comforting smile.

"But is my best enough?..." he sighed.

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><p><em>End of chapter 3, Thqnks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think in your reviews, as I've said before they really help me to become a better writer and they also encourage me to write quicker:)<em>

_If you have any ideas or suggestions for the next chapter i'm all ears, chapter 4 isn't finished yet and i could modify a few things if i like your ideas:)_


	4. Chapter 4

_I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was fun. I hope you enjoy reading it and thank you for all the reviews so far, you've been great! Please continue to review as it encourages me to write more. I'm sorry if there are any spelling mistakes but I don't have word correct on my tablet :/_

_What happened in chapter 3:_

_"I think that you're doing the best you can to keep this family together and clear of scandal." she replied with a comforting smile.  
>"But is my best enough?..." he sighed.<em>

_I hope you enjoy reading!_

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><p><span><strong>Chapter<strong>** 4:**

Mary had been sat outside on her bench under the old oak tree most of the day. She had nearly finished reading her novel but she decided to put it down for a while and simply enjoy the fresh air; spring was just over a month away and the sun had made an appearance for the first time that year.

She sat there, thinking and wondering about the baby and Matthew. She had never really seen herself as the maternal type, quite the contrary; deep down she had always known that she would eventually have children that would inherite the estate one day but she hadn't been expecting to get pregnant quite so soon, but now that she had had time to think, she thought that perhaps it would be quite nice, to have a baby to look after instead of living a boring life in which she had no purpose, this was something new, a new chapter in her life and it was all rather exciting.

Robert had been stood watching her for a while from the drawing room window, wondering what he was going to do. Now that he had been to London and made sure that there would be no stories in the paper about the scandal, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Of course, now, he had to worry about the baby and what they could do to stop the county from finding out about Mary's affairs... To Robert, it seemed that once he had found an answer to one problem, a harder, more difficult one came along...

"You know, spying isn't considered a respectable pass time for the upper-class." Violet pointed out as she walked up to her son.

"Mama, I didn't know you were coming today." he replied as he turned around to face the older woman.

"Yes well Cora needed my help with something but it seems you are in need of my help too." she answered, staring at Robert with a knowing look.

Robert sighed as he sat down in his armchair, raising a hand to stroke his brow.

"What am I to do about Mary and the baby? She has put me in an impossible situation, not to mention the fact that she wants to keep the child and marry Matthew..." he said, sounding defeated.

"Well then, the answer is obvious!" She replied.

Robert lifted his head up and stared at her, confused.

"She will marry Matthew as soon as possible and they shall announce the pregnancy after the latter... Afterall, the child could have been conceived on their honeymoon, no one shall ever know the truth." she said, as if it were simple.

"And when the child is born months before it should?" he asked, not seeing how her plan could possibly work.

"It wouldn't be months, it would only be a few weeks and we can make something up when the time comes; she could trip or something causing her to go into labour earlier, afterall, you were born a couple of weeks early, no questions will be asked." she replied, smiling at her son.

Robert looked in to thin air, taking his mother's plan into consideration.

"Oh look, there's Matthew." Violet said, making her way over to the window to watch him as he walked over to where Mary was sitting.

"I thought spying wasn't considered a respectable pass time for people of the upper-class." Robert pointed out, turning to face his mother who was clearly watching Mary and Matthew's every move.

"Oh no dear, those rules don't apply to me." she answered with a smug grin on her face.

Robert glanced at his mother and gave her a knowing look.

* * *

><p>"Matthew!" Mary exclaimed, standing up to greet him, happy to see him again.<p>

"Don't get up for me." he said, gesturing for her to sit back down, a smile on his face.

"How are you?" she asked, picking her book up and placing it on her lap, making place for him to sit down next to her.

"I'm fine, but I should be asking you that question." he said, smiling as he took a seat beside her.

"Oh I'm perfectly alright, I just wish that Papa would try to understand and be happy for me.." she said, staring down at the floor.

"He will, eventually... I hope anyway." he replied.

"What have you come down here for anyway?" Mary asked, changing the subject.

"Well, your grandmother paid me a visit earlier and it seems that she has come up with a plan that I believe would work and would allow us to marry and keep the baby without anybody finding out." he replied, looking her in the eyes.

"Oh? She hasn't told me about this grand plan." Mary answered curiously.

"Good, because I wanted to be the one to tell you." he said, taking her hands in his.

"You have my attention." she added, looking down at their joint hands.

"If you will still have me, we shall marry -very soon- and then we would announce the news about you being pregnant, the baby would arrive early but we will make up an excuse... Aunt Violet is persuaded that no one will ask any questions." he told her.

Mary sighed in relief. "I'm glad Granny's on our side." she said.

"Once we are married my darling, everything will fall into place and Robert won't stay mad at us for long, I am his heir and you are his eldest daughter and if this baby is a boy, it will secure Downton's futur and Robert won't be able to argue with that." he said, smiling fondly at Mary.

"No, I don't believe he will." she replied, smiling back at him.

Matthew felt so happy, Mary was so beautiful and she was carrying his child, the timing of it all could have been better but now he knew that this was finally happening, his dreams were coming true. He now had an important question to ask her, a question on which his happiness depended.

"Mary, my darling, would you still have me as your husband?" he asked nervously, turning a little red.

Hearing the words, Mary couldn't help but smile. This was all she had ever wanted but she wanted to tease him just a little bit longer.

"I won't answer unless you get down on one knee and ask me properly." she said, smiling at him cheekily.

* * *

><p>"He's getting down on one knee!" Violet exclaimed as she watched from the window.<p>

Robert jumped out of his armchair and joined his mother at the window.

"Is he proposing to her?" he asked as he watched.

"Well either that or he is demonstating his newest exercising positions." she replied sarcastically.

* * *

><p>"Lady Mary Crawley" he began, taking her hands in his, "would you do me the biggest honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, looking up into her deep brown eyes and taking a deep breath.<p>

"Yes!" she replied as soon as he had finished his sentence. "Yes!" she repeated before standing up and putting her arms around him.

Matthew couldn't have felt happier, had she really just agreed to marry him after all this time?

He pressed a long warm kiss to her lips before taking her into his arms and spining her around. The sound of laughter filled the air.

* * *

><p>"Good, good, at least he's sticking to the plan." Violet said, turning to face her son.<p>

"Mmh... I hope this plan of yours works." he replied.

"What's going on in here?" Cora asked as she walked over to greet her mother-in-law.

"It seems Matthew has just proposed to Mary." Robert answered as he gestured towards the window where Matthew was still holding Mary tightly in his arms.

Cora gasped in shock but the surprised expression on her face soon turned into a delighted one. "Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed as she stared out of the window and watched the newly engaged couple.

"I suppose so." Robert sighed.

"Robert, don't be so miserable, be happy for them. We have been waiting so long for this to happen and it finally has so be thankful!" Cora said, sounding rather annoyed.

"Mhm, I have to agree with Cora, misery isn't a very flattering look on you..." Violet added.

* * *

><p>Cora had invited Matthew and Isobel over for dinner that night, expecting Mary and Matthew to announce the good news.<p>

They had been placed next to each other at the table which suited them both.

After desert had been served, Matthew looked over at Mary and she nodded back at him.

"May I have everybody's attention please?" Mary asked as she stood up and placed her napkin on the table.

Cora looked over at Robert and smiled before turning her attention to her daughter.

Mary looked down at Matthew who smiled up at her before she began to speak.

"Matthew and I are engaged." she revield, turning back to Matthew and smiling.

Everybody congratulated them with a smile on their faces before Tom stood up and toasted.

"To Mary and Matthew" he said, lifting his glass up to them.

"To Mary and Matthew" they all said together, before sitting back down and talking to the couple about wedding arrangements.

"We would like to have the wedding in spring, before the bump begins to show." Mary told Isobel who seemed thrilled for them both.

"The weather should be nice then too." Isobel pointed out.

* * *

><p>As they all stood up to leave the dining room, Robert asked Mary and Matthew to stay behind.<p>

Cora smiled and nodded at him as she closed the door behind her.

"What is it Papa?" Mary asked, wondering why he wanted them to stay.

Robert poored himself a brandy before turning to face them.

"I have had time to think now, and I don't think I've been very fair to you." he began which intruiged the newly engaged couple.

Robert took a seat and sighed before looking up at them.

"I am disappointed in the both of you, and you did betraye my trust" he said, looking at Matthew. " But if I told you that I hadn't ever made mistakes then I would be lying. I see now that the two of you are happy together and I have no doubt you will make good parents. And I say this, not as the Earl of Gratham, but as your papa; you have my blessing." he said, looking over at his daughter.

"Oh Papa, you have no idea how much that means to us!" Mary exclaimed, overwhelmed as she walked over to her father and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." Matthew said, shaking hands with his future father-in-law.

Robert nodded and Mary and Matthew turned around to join the others in the drawing room. As the door closed behind them, Robert sighed and smiled to himself before taking a sip of his brandy.

* * *

><p>Spring had arrived and it was Mary and Matthew's wedding day.<p>

"There, how's that?" Anna asked as she made the finishing touching to Mary's hair.

"Perfect, thank you Anna." Mary said as she admired her hair do in the dressing table mirror.

"You look wonderful!" Cora said, feeling very proud of her daughter.

Mary looked over at her mama and smiled before standing up. When she did stand up, her dress spread out around her, she looked just like an angel.

"Beautiful." Sybil said as Mary stood in front of the body length mirror.

"Thank you Sybil darling, for always being so sweet." she said as she turned to face her sister and kissed her on the cheek.

Edith looked up at Mary and felt nothing but jealousy but she tried not to let it show.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Wait! Who is it?" Sybil asked, rushing over to the door.

"It's only me M'lady, Nanny Hulmes, I've got Miss Lily with me." said the voice on the other side of the door.

"Oh, i'm sorry" Sybil said as she opened the door. "You can never be too careful!" she added.

"Mama!" said the little four year old as she ran into Sybil's arms.

"Hello darling!" Sybil replied, crouching down to her daughter's hight. "Don't you look lovely!"

"I've dressed her and done her hair, m'lady but Lady Mary asked me to bring her here before taking her downstairs." said the older woman.

"Thank you Nanny, she will go downstairs with us." Mary said, interrupting the conversation.

As the nanny left the room, Sybil turned to her eldest sister.

"Come here darling." Mary said as she reached out her hand for her niece.

Sybil watched her sister in confusion but Mary just looked at her and smiled.

"Look what I've got for you." Mary said, bending down to the little girl's hight.

She held her hand out to Lily and in it laid a beautiful diamond butterfly clip.

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed. She ran her little fingers over the hair clip and her eyes lit up.

"This was mine when I was a little girl, you can wear it in your hair now." Mary said, fascinated by her niece's reaction.

Lily looked up at her aunt and smiled, she had never been given anything like this before and she had never worn anything in her hair.

"Here, let me put it in for you." Mary whispered as she placed the clip in her niece's shoulder length curly hair.

"Mama look!" said the little girl as she ran over to show her mother her new hairpiece.

"You're the most beautiful bridemaid I have ever seen." Sybil whispered as she stroked her daughter's hair and smiled at her elder sister in gratitude.

Cora felt overwhelmed, when had her daughter's grown up? She could remember when they were all that size and she remembered the first time Sybil had had her hair tied up, she was the youngest in the family and she had been so happy to finally have her hair tied up like her sisters. She was so very proud of them all, she couldn't have wished for a better family.

"We better go down, we're already late..." Edith said as she stood up and made her way to the door.

Mary looked at her mama, took a deep breath and smiled. She couldn't believe that she was actually getting married to Matthew.

"Come on darling." Sybil said as she out her hand for her daughter to take.

* * *

><p>Once they arrived at the church, Mary started to feel quite nervous. On her way there she hadn't expected the whole village to turn up just to catch a glimpse of her dress. She could hear everybody talking in the church as she walked up the path with Robert.<p>

When she arrived in front of the church doors, she took a deep breath and looked at her sisters.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine, once you've walked down the aisle and you're stood next to Matthew, all your nerves will disappear, mine did." Sybil whispered, laying a hand on Mary's arm noticing how nervous she was looking.

Mary looked her youngest sister in the eyes and smiled in appreciation.

"It's time to go in." Robert said, looking down at his watch.

"You remember what you have to do, once I have walked into the church with aunt Edith, you follow us in front of aunt Mary, okay?" Sybil reminded her daughter before pressing a kiss to her cheek and straightening her dress before giving Mary one last look and entering the church.

Mary hooked her arm around her father's and he patted her hand confortingly.

Matthew had been waiting impatiently at the front of the church with Tom by his side as his best man. He had never felt so nervous in all his life.

"You're making me nervous!" Tom said.

"Sorry." Matthew said, turning to face Tom."We've been through so much, Mary and I and now we're finally getting married, it almost doesn't seem real..." he added, staring into thin air.

"Well it is and it's about to begin." he said as he gestured towards Sybil and Edith who had just entered the church.

Matthew took a deep breath and straitened his shirt. The music began to play and his heart started to beat faster and faster. He figured little Lily had just entered the church due to all the 'awing' coming from the guests.

Mary walked into the church and began walking down the aisle with her papa by her side. Suddenly, she didn't feel nervous anymore, she felt happy, so very happy; she had finally found her way to the right path, the one that led to happiness and freedom and love, she had escaped the evil sea monster and was about to marry her Perseus.

Matthew took another deep breath before turning around and then, he saw her. Her eyes were locked on his and he couldn't take his eyes off her, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; her eyes were sparkling as she smiled, her dress was perfect, she was perfect. She looked as delicate and as pure as the white lilys she carried.

As she arrived in front of the alter, next to Matthew, the last of her neves left her. After all, why had she felt so nervous? She was about to marry Matthew, the man she had loved for as long as she could remember, she couldn't have felt happier.

"You look beautiful." Matthew whispered in her ear as he leant over.

Mary turned to face him and smiled knowing that in a few minutes, he would be her husband and she his wife.

Once the vicar had welcomed everyone and had said a few words, it was time for Mary and Matthew to share their vows with one another.

Matthew turned to face Mary and took her hands in his.

"It wasn't exactly love at first sight, we have had our share of problems, you and I and we haven't always seen eye to eye." he began, taking a breath before continuing. "But somehow, I believe we were meant to meet each other because without you, my life would have no meaning and would certainly be rather dull. You complete me in every way... the love I have for you is impossibly strong and eternal. I promise to hold you, care for you and love you until the last breath leaves my body and my darling, if their is a life after that, I will love you then." he vowed, looking into her beautiful teary eyes.

His vows were perfect, she wasn't sure that her's were quite as good, she had struggled to write them, she never was a very good writer. She decided to forget what she had written and speak only from the heart.

"I was once mistaken when I called you a sea monster." she began, closing her eyes and taking a breath. "I now wonder how I could have been so wrong. You saved me in every way possible. You are the light at the end of the path, a path that leads to happiness and love. And now that I have found those two things, I am complete... I am complete because of you, because you didn't give up on me when everybody else did. You have helped me through the hardest of times. You are my Perseus and I love you." she vowed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

After hearing her vows, Matthew stared at her for a moment, realising how lucky he was and how proud he was of her. She had gone through so much on her own but now he would protect her and make sure that no harm ever came to her. He never knew that love this strong existed.

After a long ceremony, it was finally time for those all important seven words, the seven words that would change Mary and Matthew's lives for ever. The seven words that would unite them until death.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

"About time." Violet said quietly.

Mary held her breath for a second, the world just seemed to stop, it was just her and Matthew now. All her dreams had just come true.

Matthew took her into his arms and kissed her passionatly on the lips.

"Oh fancy." Violet said, shocked, looking around trying to distract herself from the romantic scene.

Mary couldn't have cared less about propriety at that very minute. This was their moment, their time.

"I love you." she whispered.

"I love you too, my darling." he whispered back.

* * *

><p><em>End of chapter 4! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review as it only takes a minute and it really helps me and encourages me to write. If you have any suggestions or ideas for chapter 5, feel free to let me know :)<em>

_Thanks again !:)x_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi, I'm sorry it's be soooo long since I last posted a chapter, i've had a lot of exams but i'll keep it up to date now, I promise. I've made this chapter extra long to make up for it. I hope you enjoy reading! And please review afterwards, it would mean a lot :)x_

* * *

><p>"There" Mary whispered as she placed Matthew's hand on her blossoming baby bump.<p>

"I can't believe it!" Matthew replied, he didn't have the words to describe how it felt to finally feel his son or daughter kick. It was the first time he had - he had never been in the right place at the right time - but this time he was and he was delighted.

Mary looked up at him and smiled as she held his hand pressed against her. It was the most perfect moment, the first time the three of them had been together in that way. The baby had kicked many times before but every kick was special to Mary and this time was even more special seeing as she got to share it with Matthew.

Matthew bent down and gently ran his hand over the bump before pressing a kiss to it.

"I love you" he whispered to his unborn child. "And I love you" he said, as he rose back up to Mary's height and pressed a warm kiss to her lips.

Mary sighed and smiled against his lips. She felt as though she were in heaven. Nothing made her happier than being with Matthew, he was the one person she could trust, the one person that could make her forget all the bad things and make her feel as though she were the most special woman alive.

"I have to go into Thirsk tomorrow to meet a chap who is interessted in one of the cottages, you don't mind do you?" he asked, braking the silence.

"No, of course not, go. What time must you leave?" she asked back, taking a seat by her bedroom window.

"I'll leave first thing, I should be back in time for luncheon." he replied, walking over to where she was sitting. "Will you be alright while I'm gone?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Matthew, of course I'll be alright, I still have a month yet and besides you'll probably be back before I even get out of bed." she joked - she had had a tendancy to stay in bed longer than she should during her pregnancy, it hadn't been an easy one; she had been quite ill during the first few months.

"I know, but I can't help but worry my darling." he replied, taking her hands in his and stroking over them with his thumb.

"You worry far too much, I'll be fine, honestly." she answered, smiling up at him.

* * *

><p>Matthew woke up to a pale white sky, he quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake Mary. He walked over to the window, hoping that it hadn't snowed overnight but luckily it hadn't. He snuck past the bed towards the door but a creaking floor board caused Mary to stir.<p>

"Matthew?" she whispered in a groggy voice.

"I'm going to leave a little earlier for Thirsk, it looks like it might snow later on and I wouldn't want to get stuck there." he whispered, walking over to her bedside and pressing a warm kiss to her forehead.

"Oh, drive carefully then." she said before closing her eyes.

"I will, see you later." he whispered before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>After been woken by Matthew, Mary couldn't get back to sleep so once the clock struck seven, she decided to get up.<p>

"Anna, would you get out my winter coat, the red one with the fur collar?" she asked the young maid. "I think i'll go for a walk and it's rather cold today." she added.

"Of course m'lady." she replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, do you think it is a good idea to be going on walks on your own in your condition?" she asked, concerned.

"Oh Anna, not you too..." she sighed. "I'll be fine, I'm going on a walk, not a ten kilometer jog." she answered, rolling her eyes.

Anna nodded not knowing what else she could say, Lady Mary had obviously already made her up.

"If that's all m'lady, I'll fetch your coat now." she said, picking up Mary's night clothes that were hanging over a chair.

"Yes, thank you Anna." she replied, smiling at her.

Shortly after, Mary left her room and headed downstairs for breakfast, she usually had a tray brought up to her room but she was tired of being cooped up in her bedroom all day, she needed to get out for a while.

"We don't normally see you at breakfast." Robert said as she walked into the dining room.

"I felt like having breakfast downstairs today." she answered as she made her way over to the food.

"Good morning M'lady." A young man said as he lifted a glass lid off of the plate of fresh bacon. Mary didn't recognise him but judging by his clothes he must have been a new footman. He seemed quite polite, but he looked like a shy sort of man.

She looked over at her father for answers but he didn't seem to want to take his eyes off his newspaper.

"Do we have a new footman?" she asked.

"Oh yes, didn't I tell you? Carson was in need of a second footman so here he is." he answered.

"Ah, I see and what is his name?" she asked as she raised a brow.

Robert didn't seem to know what to say, he looked like he'd been asked a trick question at school. "Er..." He looked over at the young man for an answer.

"It's Andrew, Milord." he replied, turning quite red with embarassment.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that, I do apologize." Robert said before turning back to his newspaper.

"That's alright, Milord." he replied as he straightened his posture.

"Has Matthew already left for Thirsk? I was under the impression he was leaving later on." Robert asked curiously, without taking his eyes off the paper he was reading.

"He left early, he said it looked like it could snow and he didn't want to get stuck there." she replied as she took a seat next to her brother-in-law.

"What have you got planned for today?" Tom asked her.

"She's eight months pregnant, I shouldn't think she has anything planned." Robert interrupted.

"As a matter of fact, I think I'll go for a walk after breakfast, down by the pond." she replied.

"I don't think that's a very sensible idea." Robert said, looking over the top of his newspaper.

"I do wish everyone would stop worrying about me, some fresh air might do me and the baby some good." she replied, taking a sip of her tea.

"If you say so, but don't be gone long." Robert answered, raising his eyebrows.

"I won't, I just need to get out of the house for a while." she said. "What about you? Have you got anything planned?" she asked Tom, changing the subject.

"I thought I might spend the day with Lily. Sybil and Edith are going into Ripon for fittings and seeing as Matthew is in Thirk I doubt we'll be visiting the cottages - that is unless you wanted to go down." he asked Robert.

"No, that's alright, Murray's coming over from London today." he replied.

"Oh? What for?" Mary asked.

"I don't know, he was quite adamant he come down here and tell me himself." he answered, putting his paper down.

"It all sounds very serious, do let me know why he came." she replied. "I'm going now, I'll see you later." she said before getting up.

"Be careful." Robert said.

Mary gave him a knowing look before leaving the room.

"You wouldn't go with her would you?" Robert asked Tom.

"You heard her, she said she wanted to be alone." he answered before getting up from his seat.

"She doesn't have to know that you are going with her, just walk near her and keep an eye on her." he said, trying not to sound too obvious.

"You mean follow her?" Tom asked surprised.

"I'm just worried about her, she doesn't seem to realise that in a month she will be giving birth to a child..." he sighed.

"I won't follow her, I don't think that's fair. But I will take Lily out later and I'll keep an eye out for her but I honestly don't think there is anything to worry about." he replied.

"Thank you and I hope you're right, she doesn't seem to be getting much rest."

* * *

><p>As she left the house, she pulled her coat tighter to block out the cold. The temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees and the sky looked rather pale. She looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air before setting off walking down the path.<p>

The cold air seemed liberating in a way, she was glad to be alone with no one to bother her or to worry about her. She honestly didn't know what all the fuss was about, she had read that it was healthy to go on walks during pregnancy.

All of a sudden, little white snowflakes began to fall from the sky. She had always loved the snow ever since she was a little girl. She imagined taking her son or daughter to play in the snow with Matthew by her side. Just the thought of it made her smile. Remembering that Matthew was in Thirsk she hoped that the snow wouldn't settle, stopping him from getting home. She thought about heading back to the abbey seeing as it had started to snow but she decided not to - she carried on walking down towards the pond.

* * *

><p>"Daddy! Daddy! Can we go outside?" Lily cried as she noticed the snowflakes falling from the sky.<p>

"I'll tell you what" Tom began, handing his daughter her coat. "If you put this on, we can go for a short walk together, would you like that?" he asked.

"Yes!" The little girl replied, sounding delighted.

"Come on then" he said before fastening the buttons on her coat, taking her hand in his and making his way to the front door.

As he opened the door, the little girl ran outside into the snow. He loved the fact she was happy all the time, it made him smile. He was grateful for all that he had; a beautiful wife, a daughter, a home and a family. It all seemed perfect, he never wanted any of it to change.

He watched his little girl run ahead of him and dance around in the snow. He ran up behind her and grabbed her, lifting her up above his head and spinning her around as she giggled.

"Down daddy!" she laughed.

"How about we walk down to the pond and see if we can find any reideer footprints?" he asked his daughter as he put her down and took her hand in his.

"Really?" she asked enthusiasticly, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her papa, waiting for his answer.

Just then, in the corner of his eye, he thought he saw someone familiar, sneaking around in the trees. No, he said to himself, it can't be, I must be seeing things.

"Daddy?" she asked again.

"Why not?" he said, smiling at her and stroking her cheek.

"Come on then!" she answered, tugging on her papa's arm.

Tom giggled and followed her. Mary will probably be on her way back by now, we might pass her on the way down, he thought.

* * *

><p>As Mary turned around to head back, she felt a little faint and decided to rest for a minute or two. She knew that there was a bench just around the corner so she decided to walk round to it and sit down.<p>

Just as the bench came into view, she saw a man sitting on it. She couldn't make out who it was as he had his back turned to her. But never the less she needed to sit down for a while so she carried on walking towards it.

As she got closer, she recognised the man. She felt her heartbeat speed up and she took a deep breath. She had hoped she would never see this man again, after everything he had done to her she was rather scared to talk to him again although she would never admit it. What was he doing here anyway? Why was he sat on her bench? He couldn't be waiting for her, he couldn't have known that she would be walking this way, could he?

Having heard the footsteps behind him, he turned around to greet her, a smug smile on his face.

"Ah, Mary. I was starting to think you wouldn't turn up." he said in a sly voice.

Mary swallowed before answering. "Richard..." she whispered. "What are you doing here? I thought my father had told you to stay away." she asked, not getting any closer to him.

"Oh Mary, Mary, don't be so naïve. Did you honestly think that you could send your dear papa to pay me off, so that I wouldn't publish this scandal of yours?! The old dapper only offered me fifty pounds and I'm almost certain I can make more than that by printing your story." he said harshy, getting up from his seat and making his way over to Mary.

"Don't insult my father." she replied in a firm voice.

"Oh I'll do whatever I like." he answered, getting closer and closer to her, causing her to take a step backwards.

"Don't come any closer!" she said in a shaky voice before instinctivy placing a hand on her bump.

"What's the matter? You're not afraid are you?" he began, a slight grin on his face. "Of course you're not afraid, why would you be? After all, you'd be my wife now if it wasn't for that middle-class solicitor!" he said, raising his voice. "We could have been so good together, you and I." He whispered into her ear as he stroked a strand of hair out of her face which caused her to shiver.

"Why won't you understand? I don't want you, I love Matthew!" she replied, trying to hide her fear from him.

"Now you listen to me." he said, getting rather angry. "You embarassed me in front of everyone the last time we were together and now you will pay. Mark my words Mary, you will pay."

Mary felt light headed, she was terrified of this man and of what he could do to her but she wouldn't let him have the last word. He had nearly ruined her life, he had nearly killed her but she was determined to show him that she wasn't afraid and that she was a strong person.

"And how are you going to do that?" she asked, curiously, her voice trembling.

"Let me ask you this; how do you think I knew that you would be out here today, in this exact spot?"

It was only then that she realised, he must have been watching her. She swallowed and took a step backwards but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. She wanted to scream, to shout for help but she knew that if she did no one would hear her and Richard would know how scared she really was.

"I've been watching you Mary. Everywhere you go, everything you do, I know everything. You'd better keep this child close to you, you never know when I might be watching. Oh and I hope your husband is the hero you make out he is because you never know when you might need saving." he said, smiling at her as he released his grip on her arm and turned around and headed off in the other direction.

Mary nearly collapsed with fear as he walked away. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer. She sobbed as she leant against the nearest tree to steady herself.

"Aunt Mary!" Lily shouted in delight as she ran at full speed down the hill towards her aunt.

"Lily!" Tom shouted after her, but when he realised that she was running towards Mary he relaxed.

Mary didn't want her niece to see her like that so she quickly wiped away her tears and attempted to stand up straight.

"Hello darling!" She said, faking a smile.

As Mary took a few steps towards Lily, she felt rather dizzy and unsteady. She lifted a hand to her head a closed her eyes for a second.

Lily didn't know why her aunt was acting so stange, she usually seemed happy to see her. She took a step closer to her and began tugging on her arm.

As Tom got closer, he noticed the way Mary was standing, although she was pregnant, she never slouched, she always kept her posture perfectly straight. He began to feel a little worried. When she didn't respond to Lily and walked back to lean against the tree he knew that something wasn't right.

"Mary!" he shouted as he ran towards her.

"Daddy, is aunt Mary poorly?" the little girl asked him.

"Darling would you go sit on that bench over there while I talk to your aunt Mary?" Tom asked his daughter who did what he said and happily skipped over to the bench.

"Mary what is it? Is it the baby?" he asked concerned.

"No..." she replied as she began to sob yet again. "I'm scared Tom." she said, not making herself very clear.

"Of what? What are you afraid of?" he asked, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"He came back." she answered, lifting a hand to her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Sir Richard?" he asked. "Please tell me it wasn't that bastard." he added, looking Mary in the eyes.

She nodded in conformation. "But... how did you know?" she asked, confused.

"I thought I saw him earlier, but I wasn't sure it was him, I thought I must have been seeing things as I know Robert warned him never to return... But now I know differntly. Did he hurt you? What happened?" he asked, laying a warm hand on her arm.

"Tom..." she said before freezing and staring at him with sheer fear in her eyes aswell as the tears. "He's been watching me and I think he may try to hurt the baby... Or me..." she said before braking down in tears.

Tom didn't know what to say, he could only hug her. He couldn't tell her everything would be alright because he didn't know that it would; after the horse race incident he didn't know what Richard was capable of.

"Let's get you back to the house, you must be freezing." he began. "Matthew should be back soon and when he is you have to talk to him about what happened, tell him everything Mary. If your's or your baby's life is in danger, he must know."

"I'll tell him when he gets back..." she replied, looking into thin air.

"Good, now lets head back before we all catch a death out here." he said, offering her his arm which she took. "Lily darling!" he shouted. "Come on."

"Coming daddy!" she shouted back as she ran towards him and grabbed his left hand.

The three of them set off walking back to Downton along the snowy path. More and more snowflakes had began falling from the sky by that time.

Just as Downton came into view, Mary felt a sharp pain in her tummy that caused her to stop walking for a moment and grab her tummy.

"Mary? What is it?" Tom asked, worried.

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"It's nothing, i'm fine." she replied, not wanting to worry anyone.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, growing rather concerned.

"I am." she answered before carrying on walking towards Downton.

Tom wasn't so convinced but he decided to listen to her, afterall there was nothing he could do.

When they arrived back at the house, Carson took Mary's coat and she decided to go straight to her room, she was still feeling rather light-headed but she didn't want everyone to fuss over her so she kept it to herself.

"Tom, I think I'll go rest for a while, would you mind telling the others?" she asked.

"Of course not, should I tell Matthew to go up when he gets back?" he replied whilst taking his coat off.

She took a minute to think before answering. "Yes, please do."

"No problem." he replied, a smile on his face.

"Thank you Tom, thank you for being there." she smiled. She didn't know what she would have done without him, she was lucky he was there.

* * *

><p>Mary had been fast asleep but a knock at her bedroom door had caused her to stir. She pushed herself up so that her back was resting against the soft pillows.<p>

"Mary, my darling, it's only me." Matthew said in a gentle voice as he slowly pushed the door open and entered the room.

"Matthew." she smiled.

"Tom told me you haven't been feeling very well and that you had something to tell me, nothing serious I hope?" he inquired as he made his way to her bedside and pressed a warm kiss to her lips.

"He shouldn't have told you that..." she sighed. "I was feeling a little light-headed, that's all, i feel perfectly alright now that I have had time to rest." she replied, looking up into his bright blue eyes.

"You must take it easy for a while my darling, it won't be long now until we are welcoming our child into the world." he said as he took a seat on the side of the bed and laying a hand on her cheek and rubbing his thumb over it.

"Matthew, I said I'm feeling fine now. I was just a little tired. But I do have something rather important to tell you..." she said, looking away from him.

"What is it? The baby is alright isn't it?" he asked, worried.

"The baby is fine..." she sighed, she didn't know where to start. "Earlier today, when I was walking, I came accross Richard..." she said, lowering her voice.

"Richard? What is he doing here?!" he asked shocked. "Did he hurt you again? If he layed a finger on you I swear I'll-"

"No." she said, raising her voice a little and cutting him off. "He didn't hurt me as such, but he threatened to and... he threatened to hurt our baby too." she said, placing a conforting hand on her bump and holding back a tear.

"He did what?! What did he say?" he asked, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

"He said... he told me that he had been watching me, and that I'd better be careful... I'm scared Matthew!" she said, pulling him closer to her as tears rolled down her cheeks.  
>"Listen to me Mary. Listen." he repeated as he put his hands on both sides of her head and looked her directly in the eye. "As long as I walk this earth, I promise that I will keep you and our baby safe. No harm will ever come to either of you."<p>

"But Matthew how-"

"Mary, do you trust me?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes, I trust you." she replied as she wiped away her tears.

"Then you don't have to worry, I'm here for you, for both of you and nothing will ever change that, do you understand?" he asked, taking her hands in his.

She nodded her head as she was too shaken up to speak.

"I love you Mary." he said before pressing a tender kiss to her lips.

"I love you." she managed to say before tears continued to roll down her -now pink- cheeks.

* * *

><p>During the night, Mary had woken up with abdominal pain.<p>

She sat up and placed both her hands on either side of her tummy and took deep breaths, hoping the pain would pass.

Her heaving breathing woke Matthew.

"Mary, the baby?" he asked as he dived out of bed with worry. "Mary is it coming?" he asked again, impatiently waiting for her to answer.

"I don't know, I think so!" she shouted between breaths.

"Oh god!" he said, realising that he would soon be a father. "I'll go call for Dr. Clarkson." he said before running over to the door.

"No!" she screamed. "I need you here! Don't leave me." she said as she reached out for him.

"My darling, I have to get a doctor." he said as he ran over to kiss her on the forehead before rushing back to the door. "I'll be quick, I promise. Everything will be alright." he said, trying to stay calm for Mary's sake.

Mary couldn't even talk anymore, the only thing she could think about was the pain although she tried to concentrate on her breathing.

Matthew ran out of the room and quickly ran down the hall to Sybil and Tom's bedroom which was the closest to theirs. Without even thinking he ran straight it without knocking.

"The baby's coming!" he shouted, waking both of them immediatly.

"Oh goodness!" Sybil exclaimed as she and Tom pushed the covers back and jumped out of bed and headed down the corridor towards Mary's room.

"I'll phone for Clarkson, you stay with her." Tom told Matthew before running down the stairs and making his way to the telephone.

Matthew was thankful but all he could think about was getting to Mary's side.

"Mary darling, just keep breathing." Sybil informed her and she arrived at her side and stroke the hair out of her sister's face.

"Dr. Clarkson will be here shortly, stay stong." Matthew whispered as he took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly.

"Mary, is it happening?!" Cora asked enthusiasticly as she arrived in Mary's room followed shortly by Robert who had been woken by the noise.

"Have you called for Clarkson?" Robert asked from the other side of the room, not wanting to go any closer.

"Tom has just gone down to call him." Sybil replied without taking her eyes off her eldest sister.

By the time Clarkson arrived, nearly the whole household had been woken and were patiently waiting for the news. Tom, Robert and Matthew had been kicked out of the room although Matthew would have prefered to stay by Mary's side. Edith had decided to leave the room too as their was nothing she could do but wait. Mary had Sybil, Cora and with her and as far as Edith was concerned they were all she needed.

Cora and Sybil stayed by Mary's side and supported her as much as they could. Mary was stuggling to catch her breath and Dr. Clarkson was advising her to take long deep breaths in order to ease the pain but Mary didn't listen to a word he said, she did it her way, she had never listened to anyone before and she had been perfectly fine up until now so she decided breathe the way she felt was right.

"Right M'lady, I want you to push when you feel the next contraction." Clarkson said firmly.

"You can do it Mary." Sybil told her in her sweet innocent voice.

Mary looked up at her youngest sister and tried to smile but as she did she felt the next contraction so she turned back and gripped hold of her tummy and pushed as hard as she could and screaming at the top of her voice.

Doctor Clarkson took the time to examine her quickly but he couldn't yet see the baby's head.

"You must push harder M'lady, I can't see the head just yet. Breathe through the pain and push again as hard as you can at the next contraction." he told her.  
>"I can't..." she panted. She felt so hot, her forehead had turned shiny with sweat. She wondered how any woman could get through this. She had never felt pain like it.<p>

"Of course you can, you're the stong one Mary, if I can do it so can you." Sybil whispered, trying to confort and reassure her.

Mary couldn't concentrate on what her sister was saying, all she could focus on was giving birth to a healthy child.

More contractions passed and she had pushed each time but the baby still hadn't been born. She was exhausted from pushing, she didn't know how much more she could take.

"Is there anything we can do?" Cora asked the doctor as she grew more and more concerned for her daughter and her unborn child.

"We will need towels and hot water if you could get them." he replied.

"I'll be right back darling." Cora said as she kissed her daughter on the forehead and left the room.

She ran down stairs towards the servants hall in order to get what Clarkson had asked for.

The rest of the family had been waiting in the library but hearing someone running down the stairs, Matthew ran into the hallway, closely followed by the others to see what was going on.

"How is she? It's been a while, tell me she's alright." Matthew asked Cora with a worried expression on his face.

Cora didn't know what to tell him, she herself didn't know what was going to happen so she couldn't tell him that everything would be alright.

"The whole process is taking longer than what it normally should..." she replied. "But that-"

"Oh god, what does that mean?!" he asked, growing more and more concerned.

"That doesn't mean that the baby won't be delivered healthy. It's just taking longer than it should but Clarkson has it under controle. Now if you'll excuse me I have been asked to get towels and hot water." she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible before turning around and heading towards the servants hall.

"I can't wait any longer." Matthew said as he turned to face Robert.

"My boy, there is nothing you can do but wait." he replied, laying a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder.

"There is, I can be there for her. She needs me." he said having made his decision before running towards the stairs.

"Matth-" Robert shouted but he had already disappeared up the stairs towards Mary's room.

"Mary, Mary my darling." he said as he pushed the door open and rushed to her side.

"I don't think it's wise, you being in here." Doctor Clarkson pointed out.

"I want... him here." Mary managed to say as she reached out for him.

"Let him stay." Sybil said, as she smiled understandingly at Matthew.

Having Matthew by her side had made Mary feel stonger somehow, she felt more complete with him, especially now that he was holding her hand.

"Be strong my darling..." Matthew whispered into her ear.

"On the next contraction, I need you to push harder than you ever have before." Clarkson said. He was beggining to feel worried himself, and was starting to wish that Isobel was there with him although he could believe that he actually wanted her there, but somehow she kept him calm. He was glad Sybil was there at least, she was a trained nurse after all.

"You can do this." Matthew whispered again as he wiped a couple of strands of dark brown hair out of Mary's face.  
>A few seconds later, she pushed as hard as she possibly could, nearly breaking Matthew's hand in the process and to top it all off, she nearly deafened him but screaming straight into his right ear.<p>

"Well done M'lady, I can see the head!" Clarkson said, sounding full of joy.

Mary sighed in relief although she knew it wasn't over yet, but at least something had finally happened.

After a couple more pushes, the baby was finally delivered.

"It's a boy!" Matthew said, as he bent over to see his baby son, overcome with joy.

Mary was just happy that she had delivered him safely and that now it was all over. She threw her head back onto the cushions and took the time to breathe.  
>Although Mary and Matthew both had smiles on their faces, Sybil and Clarkson didn't share the their enthusiasm. Sybil looked over at Dr. Clarkson, let go of Mary's hand and joined him at the end of the bed.<p>

Without saying a word, Clarkson scooped him up and took him to the table at the other side of the room.

"What is it? What's the matter?!" Matthew demanded to know as he jumped off the bed and walked over to the doctor and Sybil.

"Matthew? Why isn't he crying? Where is he? Why isn't he crying?!" Mary asked, growing more and more worried and raising her voice. She couldn't understand why they had taken her baby away from her. All she could see was the back of Sybil and who seemed to be doing something to her newborn baby.

"He isn't breathing." Sybil said as she turned round to face her sister.

"What?!" She asked, shocked. What was happening? Where was her little boy?

"Do something!" Matthew shouted at the doctor.

Just then, the door opened and Cora entered with her hands full.

"I've got the- What's going on?" she asked, as she saw everyone except Mary gathered together at the other side of the room. She looked at her daughter for answers.

"He isn't breathing." Mary said slowly, staring into thin air as if she didn't know what was happening anymore.

Cora dropped everything she was carrying and hurried over to where the others were standing.

"Help him! Please!" Matthew shouted over and over again.

Doctor Clarkson was just about to give up when suddenly the most perfect sound filled the air; the cry of a newborn baby.

At that point everyone sighed in relief.

"He's a strong little chap, I'll say that!" Clarkson said, he couldn't help but smile. This was one of the best parts of his job, saving children's lives.

Cora rushed over to pick up a towel and handed it to Sybil who wrapped the baby up in it and handed him to Matthew.

Having heard her baby cry for the first time had made Mary cry tears of joy, she had never felt so relieved, so happy.

Matthew took the little bundle over to meet his mama for the first time. Cora admired her new grandson as he passed in front of her.

"He's so beautiful." Matthew said as he handed him to Mary.

For a moment she just stared at him, the beautiful little boy that lay there in her arms. She admired his features - he took after Matthew in everyway - he had the most perfect blue eyes and silky blond hair, just like Matthew's. He was perfect.

"Hello darling." she whispered in a low, mother-like voice. She reached for his little hand and offered him her finger which he slowly wrapped his tiny fingers around.

Matthew leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to Mary's forehead but moved her head up and stared into his eyes before pressing a long tender to his lips.

"Thank you." she whispered, still staring into his perfectly blue eyes.

"What for? You did all the hard work my darling and I am so very proud of you." he replied.

"You came back." she whispered.

"I'll never leave you again, I'm always going to be there for you, like I promised. Nothing will keep me away from you anymore. I love you so, so much.

"I love you too." she replied before turning her attention back to her son. She staired at him for a while and she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"What shall we call him?" Matthew asked.

"What about George?" she suggested after having thought about it for a while.

"George sounds perfect." he replied, looking down at his son. "Hello George" he whispered as he very gently ran his finger over his delicate cheek. "I'm your Papa."

* * *

><p><em>End of chapter 5. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please, please, please review! It will encourage me to write quicker and better.<em>

_Next chapter: Could someone be in danger?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi, so here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it and please take a couple of seconds after reading to review, even if you only write "I like it." or "I didn't like it." - the reviews keep me going and they make me want to write more and better. Please review if you want a quicker update. Thank you:)_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 6:<strong>

One month later.

In the early hours of a friday morning, when the sky was still dark and a gloomy mist hovered over the groud, a tall man walked through the servants courtyard and headed towards the door which was immediatly opened for him by someone who had been waiting.

The tall mysterious man handed the younger man a piece of paper or some sort of message. They didn't talk much, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Right after he had given the man the letter, he turned around and headed back out into the fog.

"Oh and Andrew" the mysterious man began as he stopped and turned around "you do know which room it is, don't you?" he asked, staring at the younger man under his brow awaiting an answer.

"Yes Sir." he replied before coughing nervously.

"Good man." he added before walking back through the courtyard and out of sight after which the man at the door, Andrew, didn't waste any time before shutting the door and hurrying quielty back to his room.

* * *

><p>As the morning arrived, three cars were being loaded up with bags and suitcases and the maids and servants were all hard at work.<p>

The whole household was getting ready to go to Rosamund's house in London and while they were there, a dinner would be held to celebrate her fiftieth birthday.

"Are you sure he'll be alright by himself?" Mary asked as she handed George over to Matthew.

"Mary I can assure you he'll be quite alright with Nanny Hulmes." Robert repied, staring at his daughter under his brows.

"But what if he gets sick? I hear some of the children in the village have caught the flu..." she said, stroking George's hair. It was the first time she would be without him and she couldn't help but worry.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine, besides we will only be away one night." Matthew answered as he gently rocked his son in his arms.

"Mhm... I suppose you're right." she sighed.

"The cars are ready My Lord." Carson announced as he walked into the drawing room where everyone had been waiting.

"Thank you Carson." Robert replied as he made his way through the room towards the hallway closely followed by the rest of the family.

"Shall I take Master George, ?" the nanny asked as she reached out for the baby.

"Ye-" Matthew began as he handed his son over to the older woman.

"No." Mary said, cutting him off. "That won't be necessary thank you Nanny, we will take him to the nursery." she added as she took George from her.

"Very well Milady." She replied, a warm smile on her face. She admired Lady Mary for spending so much time with her son, she never saw her as the maternal type and thought she would be the one to bring George up.

"Mary dear, do hurry, the train leaves in half an hour and I should hate to be the late." Violet said as her granddaughter walked towards the stairs.

"I'll be right down Granny." Mary replied, taking her time to walk up the stairs. She didn't like the idea of leaving George behind but she knew that taking him with them wouldn't be a good idea either; what was she supposed to do with a one month old child at a cocktail party? She did feel rather guilty though but as Matthew pointed out, it was only for one night.

"I don't think Aunt Rosamund would mind if we were a little late Granny." Sybil pointed out as she walked over to her grandmother.

"Oh no dear, but I would - it's so very middle-class to arrive late at a dinner party." Violet sighed before shaking her head slightly and walking over to a footman to complain about one of her suitcases not being loaded onto the car.

Sybil gave Tom a knowing look and they shared a smile.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure it is such a good idea to leave him? What if he catches the flu from the children in the village?" Mary asked Matthew as she laid George down in his crib.<p>

"Darling, he'll be fine and I very much doubt he will catch the flu, he never comes into contact with any other children apart from Lily and she very clearly isn't ill." Matthew replied, trying to reassure her.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I just can't help but worry..." she sighed as she gently strocked George's little hand.

"You don't have to apologize, it's perfectly normal to worry but he'll be fine, I promise." he said before kissing his son's forehead and walking towards the door.  
>"Goodbye darling, Mama won't be gone long." she whispered before bending over and pressing yet another kiss to his forehead. She looked up at Matthew who smiled at her and then followed him out of the nursery, looking over her shoulder at her son as she left.<p>

"Mary, Matthew, what on earth have you been doing? The poor chauffeur has been sat waiting in the car for twenty minutes." Robert said as he saw his daughter and son-in-law appear at the top of the stairs.

"Sorry Papa, it's my fault I'm afraid." Mary said as she joined her father at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well are you ready now? We had better get going if we aren't to miss the train." he answered.

"We are." she replied before looking over at Matthew and following her father out of the house and into the car.

* * *

><p>"I have rather missed London." Mary said as she stepped out of the car and breathed in the city air.<p>

"So have I." Edith added as she walked around the car and onto the pavement by Mary.

"I love the sound of my heels clicking against the pavement, don't you?" she asked her sister as she waited for Matthew to get out of the car.

"Mhm, it's definatly a sound you don't hear often at Downton!" she replied enthusiasticly.

Matthew offered Mary his arm and they walked together up to the house.

"Ah! Here you are!" Rosamund said as she opened the front door and walked down the stairs to greet her family.

"Happy birthday dear." Violet said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"Thank you Mama, shall we head inside?" She suggested before gesturing for everyone to follow her.

"I thought we would be the last here." Mary said after looking round and finding that they were the only people there.

"On the contrary, you are the first to arrive." Rosamund replied with a warm smile on her face.

"We are? Oh goody!" Violet said, sounding delighted.

Rosamund looked at her mother and shook her head in disbelief.

"Anyway, shall we go through?" she asked.

* * *

><p>Mary had found dinner rather dull, the only bit of excitement they had had was when Larry Grey spilt his wine all over himself. She hadn't been able to stop herself from laughing, she kept on picturing his face in her head when the wine had stained his dinner shirt and he had jumped up from the table.<p>

After dinner, everyone enjoyed the new cocktails in the drawing room.

"Ah Mary, there you are." Rosamund said as she made her way over to where her eldest niece was standing.

"These cocktails are delicious." Mary said before taking another sip of her drink.

"Yes they are rather, aren't they?" she replied. "There is something I have being wanting to tell you." she said, looking rather serious all of a sudden.

"Oh?" Mary asked sounding intrigued.

"Earlier on, there was a knock at the door and I was rather surprised to see who it was." she began.

"You are getting me quite worried now." she replied.

"Oh no dear, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about but - you see, it was that awful man you used to be engaged to, Sir Richard." she said, staring at Mary for a reaction.

Having heard his name again, Mary nearly dropped her glass.

"What did he want?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well he somehow knew that you would be here - in London - and he wanted to see you but I turned him away and told him you were busy." she began. "And then on his way out, he asked if you had brought George with you, which to be perfectly honest I found rather odd..." she said, staring into thin air.

Remembering what Richard had said to her the last time they had met, Mary started to get increasingly worried.

"Well what did you say?" she asked impatiently.

"Well the truth of course, I told him that he was at Downton. Do you have any idea wh-" but before she could finish her sentence, Mary had put down her glass and hurried into the crowd to find Matthew.

What on earth is going on? Rosamund thought to herself.

"Matthew!" Mary shouted as she caught a glimpse of him stood talking to Tom.

"Mary, what is it?" he asked, looking confused. He could tell that something wasn't right.

"We must go back to Downton, now." she told him.

"Why? What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's Richard, I think he is going to do something to George." she replied in a shaky voice.

"What?!" Matthew exclaimed. He put is glass down on the table and looked into his wife's eyes for answers.

"He came here, looking for him. He's going to take him Matthew! We have to leave." she said holding back her tears.

Matthew stood and listened to her in shock and then realising he could lose his son, a bolt of adrenaline ran through him and he grabbed Mary's hand and pushed his way through the crowd of guests. Tom followed them out into the hallway.

"I need a car, do you have a driver waiting?" Matthew asked the butler as they arrived in the hallway.

"Yes Sir." The butler replied, surprised by how anxious Matthew looked. "If you would like to follow me." he said before gesturing towards the door.

"I'm coming too." Tom interrupted. "Lily's with George." he said.

"Oh god, I hadn't thought... We must tell Sybil." Mary replied, taking the time to think.

"I'll go get her." he decided before heading back into the drawing room in search of his wife.

Once they had told Sybil, all four of them had rushed into the car and set off in direction of the station. They hadn't told anyone else where they that they were leaving, Rosamund knew that something wasn't quite right but she hadn't asked any questions.

"Could you drive a little faster please?" Matthew asked the driver as he grew more and more impatient and worried.

"Not much faster, sir." The driver answered before speeding up a little.

Mary sighed and looked at Matthew for comfort.

"I won't let anything happen." he promised her.

Mary closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. Seeing how worried she was, Matthew reached out for her hand and held it tightly in his.

When they finally arrived at the train station, Tom and Matthew rushed to the front desk, hoping they would make the next train.

"The next train should arrive in twenty minutes, there isn't one before that." Tom said as he and Matthew walked back to where Mary and Sybil had been waiting.

"Twenty minutes?!" Sybil asked, shocked.

"We can't wait that long!" Mary exclaimed, her eyes wide open in shock.

"Mary we don't have a choice." Matthew replied, walking up to his wife and pulling her into his arms where he held her close to his chest although doing so in public was quite unproper.

Sybil and Tom sat down side by side on a wooden bench and patiently waited for the train to arrive knowing that that was their only option.

* * *

><p>Back at Downton Andrew was feeling rather anxious, the message he had recieved had told him exactly what he had to do but having read it, he wasn't quite sure he would be able to do what it asked but he knew that if he didn't do what was expected of him, he would be in trouble.<p>

He had done some jobs for people before but they had only been little and they certainly hadn't envolved putting anyone's life in danger. He had thought about it all day and had decided to go ahead with it in fear of losing his own life.

There was a fair in the village that evening which meant the footmen and maids that weren't in London would be away for the evening. The only people in the house apart from him were the children and the nanny.

After hesitating, he reached into the kitchen draws and pulled out a box of Mrs. Patmore's matches, put them in his pocket and headed upstairs. When he reached the room he had been told to set alite, he very carefully pushed the door opened and peared into the room. He looked over at the single bed in the corner of the room where the nanny had fallen asleep and then he noticed the children both fast asleep in their own beds. He took a deep breath and closed the door behind him. With shaky hands he carefully placed some cloth and rags up against the door and with one quick hand movement, he lit the match. He watched the flame for a second, took a deep breath and without a second thought he dropped the match onto the rags, stood up and walked away without looking back.

* * *

><p>"We will need to find a driver, I hadn't thought about it before but we don't have a car here." Matthew said as he stepped off the train onto the platform.<br>"Oh gosh I hadn't thought about that..." Sybil said, wondering what they were going to do.

"How could we have not thought of this before?" Mary asked, souding almost defeated. All she wanted was to get to her baby, that was all that mattered to her. She knew she should never have left him, not after what Richard had said. How could she have been so stupid? If anything happened to George she would never forgive herself.

"Don't worry, we'll find a driver." Tom said, sounding a little more optemistic than the rest.

"Tom's right, we will get there." he said reassuringly before patting Tom's shoulder in appreciation.

* * *

><p>As time started to pass, Andrew felt more and more nervous. He was beggining to regret what he had done but he knew he couldn't do anything about it.<br>He had packed his bags and was just about to leave when he realised what he was doing was wrong. He dropped his bag and ran back inside and back up the stairs to the nursery. Thick smoke filled the hallway and caused him to cough. Flames had started to grow and to his horror he noticed that they had already made their way into the nursery.

Aswell as the flames, the children's cries also filled the air. At that point Andrew knew he had to get the children out of the room. He took of his jacket, put it over his head and ran through the smoke looking for another way into the room. Luckily, he found another door leading into the nursery through one of the rooms next to it. He had to kick the door down as it had become jammed. He rushed over to Lily who had gotten out of bed and was stood screaming in a corner of the room. He picked her up and went straight to little George who had turned red because of all the crying he had been doing. He scooped him up in his other arm and covered him with his jacket.

Once he had got the children out of the burning room, he didn't know what to do with them. He thought for a minute and eventually made up his mind and took them to the other side of the house where he thought they would be safe and laid them both down in a bed in what he assumed was a guest room before running back to nursery and throwing a quilt over the growing flames.

He looked at the nanny who was clearly unconcious but fearing for his own safety, he decided he had done enough already and rushed back downstairs to collect his bag and with that he left Downton without even looking back.

As he left, he noticed his ex employer, Sir Richard, standing in the garden with a satisfied grin on his face as he watched the flames blow through one of the hallway windows. Andrew ignored him and without saying a word, carried on walking until he was out of sight.

A couple of minutes later a car drove through the gates at Downton which caused Sir Richard to flee. Although he was a little disappointed the fire hadn't yet had the chance to spread, he was satisfied with Andrew's work and hoped that the fire would cause Mary and Matthew as much pain and sadness as they had caused him.

"There is no sign of Sir Richard's car." Tom pointed out as he peared out of the car window.

"What if he has already taken him?" Mary asked, sounding more worried than before.

Matthew didn't know what to answer, he didn't know what he could say to make it all better, he could only hope his son and niece were safe. Suddenly he started looking around as if he had smelt something... It smelt awfully like... smoke!

"Stop! Stop the car, let us out!" Matthew shouted as he stood up in the car before it had even stopped.

The driver slammed his brakes on which caused the car to skid a little.

"What is it?!" Mary asked, looking wide-eyed at her husband who had just jumped out of the car.

"Fire! Downton's on fire!" he shouted before running up to the main entrance as fast as he could without wasting a second.

"Oh god no!" Mary shouted as she realised that her son must still be inside. She didn't have time to think though, before she could say anything else she found herself running after Matthew towards Downton along side her sister and brother-in-law.

"Mary stay outside, I'll get George." Matthew said as he pushed the door open and walked in.

"No, no. Matthew I am not staying outside whilst my son is inside. I'm coming too." she said stubbornly trying to push past him.

"Mary, my darling please, I can't risk losing you. I will not come back out without George, I promise." he whispered before pressing a warm kiss to her lips and heading upstairs into the smoke, followed closely by Tom.

"I can't just stand here... What if-" Mary began but couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she would do if she lost her son.

"They aren't in here!" Matthew shouted as he walked into the thick smoke and peared into the library.

"Are you sure?" Tom asked as he squinted his eyes and joined Matthew at the door.

"I can't see them." he replied. "The other door." he remembered before feeling his way through the smoke towards the next room in order to get in through the other door.

"Lily! Lily!" Tom called out and over again as he followed Matthew into the next room.

"I can't see a thing!" Matthew shouted as he pushed his way through the door and into the nursery.

"Lily!" Tom shouted again, before taking of his jacket and using it to cover his head.

"Tom, over here!" Matthew shouted as he found the nanny unconscious in her bed.

"Oh god." Tom said as he rushed over to Matthew who was trying to wake the nanny. "Is she...?"

"No, she's just unconscious. We need to get her out of here." Matthew answered, trying to stay calm as he pulled the covers off of the bed and scooped the older woman into his arms.

Tom walked in front of Matthew and cleared the way for him as he carried the nanny out of the nursery and into the thick smoke that filled the hallway.

Matthew walked as fast as he could and took her downstairs where Sybil was anxiously waiting by the telephone.

"Where's Lily? Why haven't you got her?" Sybil asked Tom with a worried look on her face as she saw him rushing down the stairs.

"She wasn't in the nursery." Tom said as he removed his jacket from where he had been holding it in front of his mouth.

Sybil closed her eyes for a second, she didn't know if she was relieved that her daughter wasn't in the fire or worried about her whereabouts; she felt a bit of both really. When she opened her eyes she noticed the nanny in Matthew's arms. "Goodness, is she alright?" she asked in shock as she rushed over to Matthew and Tom.

"She needs air, and an ambulance." Matthew replied without stopping as he carried her outside into the fresh air and layed her down on a bench by the door.  
>"The telephone wire has been cut, I can't telephone anyone - not even the firemen!" Sybil exclaimed.<p>

"We need to get help." Matthew said. He scratched his brow while he thought. "Sybil, stay with her and Tom, do you know where the sand buckets are kept?" he asked.

Tom thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, yes I do."

"Good, you get them, try to keep the fire down and-" he stopped talking for a second and looked around. "Where's Mary?" he asked Sybil.

"She ran upstairs, just after you. I thought she would be with you." Sybil said innocently as she began to shake with worry.

"She's upstairs?" Matthew asked again, just to make sure.

"Yes, you couldn't just expect us to wait here whilst our children's lives are in danger." she replied as tears appeared in her eyes.

Matthew didn't react to what she was saying, all he could think about was Mary and George.

"Tom, get the sand buckets!" he shouted as he ran back towards the staircase.

He found himself trapped in the thick smoke yet again that was beggining to spread around the corridors.

Mary was starting to panic as she searched the rooms for the children. The air was filling with smoke which caused her to cough. She opened every door she passed but there was no sign of them.

"Lily! Lily darling!" she shouted as she made her way through the smoke.

She had to stop for a second and lean against the wall to take a breath and calm down. She was shaking with worry and her legs were beggining to feel weak. She felt like crying but she wasn't going to give up on her son so she covered her mouth with her hand and carried on looking.

Suddenly she froze. She thought she had heard a noise. She stood as still as she could and listened out for it again.

Just then she heard it again. "Mama? Mama?!" It was Lily, she was sure of it. She began running towards the voice. She could tell Lily was afraid, she could hear it in her shaky little voice.

"Lily?!" she shouted again, hoping that her niece would hear her.

She listened out for an answer but she heared nothing. She decided to carry on walking and checking the rooms because she knew that Lily's voice had come from that direction.

"Lily?" she shouted over and over.

All of a sudden she heard a banging noise coming from one of the rooms near the end of the corridor so she rushed towards it as fast as she could. When she arrived in front of it she could here crying coming from inside the room.

She tried to open the door but it seemed jammed.

"Are you in there Lily?" she asked through the door.

"Aunt Mary?" she heard.

She felt relieved when she finally heard her niece.

"Don't worry darling, I'm coming." she said in a comforting voice as she pushed the door a little harder. The sound of sobbing nearly broke her heart. "Darling, is George alright?" she asked.

"He won't stop crying." Lily replied in a innocent and worried voice.

"Alright, I'm coming, don't worry. " she told her. "Move away from the door, I'm going to push it open." she added.

She gathered all her strength and pushed the door one last time and it flew open. The room was no expection and was also full of smoke.

Mary ran straight over to the bed where George lay, crying his eyes out. She immediatly picked him up and held him close to her chest before picking up a spare sheet and covering him up in it.

Lily ran over to her aunt and grabbed hold of her tightly.

"It's alright darlings, you must be brave for me now, can you do that?" she asked, looking down at Lily who nodded her head.

She took her hand in hers and held it tightly.

"Stay with me." She told her before heading towards the door.

She looked down at George who had calmed down a little, took a deep breath and headed out into the hallway.

She pushed George closer to her chest and hurried down the corridor towards the stairs. She could hardly see for all the smoke and she was afraid but she knew that she had to stay strong for the children.

"I want my mummy." Lily said sweetly as she looked up at Mary with tears in her eyes.

"I know darling, you will see her soon, I promise." she replied, pulling her closer to her side.

Just as Mary was beggining to feel really worried, she heared Matthew's voice.

"Matthew!" she shouted. "I've got the children, I've got them!" she said, walking towards his voice.

"Mary!" he shouted in relief as he saw her appear through the smoke with both children. "How are they?" he asked before quickly kissing Mary's forehead. He was relieved to see her, when Sybil had told him that she had gone upstairs, he had feared the worst.

"I'm not sure, I think they're alright." she replied. "Take Lily, she frightened." she said.

Matthew bent down and scooped Lily into his arms and lead them out of the smoke to the top of the stairs.

Mary kept George as close to her as possible as she rushed down the stairs towards the doors.

"Darling!" Sybil exclaimed when she saw Mary and Matthew appear with her daughter. She ran towards Matthew who passed Lily to her.

"Mama!" Lily cried as she clung on to Sybil.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she quickly examined her daughter.

"I think she's alright." Matthew answered. "How's George?" he asked Mary as he walked over to her and his son.

Mary took the cover off of him and had a good look at him before replying. "He's fine, he's alright." She sighed as she closed her eyes in relief before kissing her son's head.

"Thank god." Matthew replied whilst stroking George's head. He then turned to face Mary and pressed a warm tender kiss to her lips. He couldn't tell her how much she meant to him and how worried he had been, he simply couldn't find the words.

"Thank you." She whispered as he pulled away. She was so very grateful to him and she felt so blessed to have him by her side every step of the way. She knew she could rely on him, trust him. He was her stick.

"I have to help Tom." Matthew said all of a sudden realising that it wasn't over and that Tom was still inside.

"Matthew!" Matthew shouted as she grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back. "I love you." She whispered before pressing yet another kiss to his lips.

Matthew arrived up stairs and found Tom throwing buckets of sand on what was left of the flames.

"Tom." he said as he rushed over to him, grabbed the bucket from his hand and took over.

Tom looked at him with a grateful expression in his eyes before moving back away from the flames.

After a couple more minutes, the fire eventually died out and both men walked away from it safely, apart from a few superficial burns on their hands.

* * *

><p><em>That's all for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!<br>If you have any suggestions or ideas for the next chapter i'm all ears. _

_Do you want this story to end soon, or should I write more? Please answer me as I'm not sure if I should end it soon.  
>Please review and tell me what you thought. Thanks again!x<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_Again, I am so sorry for not posting this chapter sooner, with it being Christmas time, I haven't really had much time to write... I am hopeless, I know, I hope you don't mind too much..._

_Anyway, here is chapter 7, I hope you enjoy reading it. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, it has taken me all day so I hope you like it. Please don't hesitate to comment & leave a review, I would very much appreciate it if you did so. Your reviews encourage me to write more:) Please let me know what you think. x_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 7:<strong>

Two days later:

"Well I still can't believe someone would do something like this..." Robert admitted to Carson.

"The downstairs staff are quite shaken up about it My Lord." The butler answered.

"Yes, I should expect so..." he replied, staring into thin air.

"There is something I wanted to discuss with you M'Lord, if that's alright." Carson said before straightening his composure a little.

"What is it?" he asked, turning his attention back to the butler.

"Well I wondered if Andrew - that is, the newest footman - had left any indication that would suggest he was leaving service here... Only, he seems to have taken off without a trace." Carson began.

"Oh?" he asked. "I had no idea that he was leaving, he must have only been here a couple of months..."

Matthew was on his way to the library when he came accross Carson and Robert in the hall and their conversation caught his attention.

"Well that's what I find rather intriguing, that and the fact that he left whilst you were in London, without telling anyone. And if I am not mistaken that was the night of the fire." The older butler added, staring at Robert with a knowing look, waiting for a reaction.

After realising what Carson was suggesting, Robert lifted his head slightly as though he was thinking the same thing before turning to face Matthew who had made his way over to the two older men.

"What's this about?" Matthew inquired, looking at Robert for an answer.

"It seems the footmen - Andrew" he began as he turned to Carson to make sure he had got his name right to which Carson nodded in confirmation, "It seems he disappeared the night of the fire." he replied.

"Disappeared?" Matthew asked. "How do you mean?"

Robert turned to Carson for an explanation.

"Whilst you were all in London, the other staff and I decided to head down to the village fair for the evening, but Andrew had insisted he stay here - he told Mrs. Hughes he had a headache - so we thought nothing of it and let him stay behind. Only, when we returned, just after the fire Andrew wasn't here but I simply though he had gone to bed, it was rather late after all, but the next day - yesterday - that is, he didn't come down so I sent James upstairs to fetch him but he wasn't in his bed and it hadn't been slept in..." he explained, feeling quite embarassed for not having spoken about it sooner.

"But why didn't you mention it yesterday?" Robert asked.

"You were all very busy, as were the downstairs staff... I didn't like to bother you so soon after the incident." Carson replied, turning a little red.

"Quite right." Robert answered. "It isn't your fault Carson, I-"

"You mean to say that this footmen was alone in the house, just before the fire began and then suddenly disappeared afterwards?" Matthew asked, cutting Robert off.

After thinking about it for a second, Carson replied. "Yes." he said before coughing nervously. "I thought I should let you know." he added.

"You did right in doing so." Robert answered.

Carson turned to Robert and nodded his head in appreciation.

"If that's all, My Lord, I should be getting back downstairs. I shall be ringing the gong soon." he added.

"Yes, that will be all for now, thank you Carson." Robert replied.

"Yes, thank you, thank you very much." Matthew added before rushing upstairs to find Mary.

* * *

><p>Mary and Sybil were in the old nursery with George and Lily. The other nursery had been badly damaged by the smoke and flames so they had moved the children into another room that had been used as Mary, Sybil and Edith's nursery when they were young.<p>

"I'm so glad we got back in time." Sybil said as she piled up some playing blocks with her daughter on the nursery floor.

"Oh, so am I." Mary replied. "I can't even begin to think what would have happened if we hadn't..." she added as she started to get a little teary eyed.

"Oh Mary, don't think like that." Sybil replied in a sweet voice as she stood up and made her way over to her older sister who was sat in a chair overlooking George in his cot.

Sybil place a warm hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled at her.

"I'm alright, truly." Mary said, taking a deep breath and gently wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No, you're not." Sybil replied which surprised Mary because she wasn't used to people answering back. "You've seemed... different in some way for quite a while now and you're starting to worry me." she added, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Sybil darling, I told you I'm fine." Mary answered stubbornly before standing up and walking towards the window.

"This is about Sir Richard, isn't it?" Sybil guessed as she walked over to where Mary was standing.

Mary quickly turned around after hearing his name and stared her sister in the eye.

"I don't want to talk about that man. I never want to see him or hear his name ever again." She said, raising her voice a little.

"So I am right then." Sybil said softly. "I don't think you should keep it to yourself any longer, Mary. What has he done that is so bad?" She asked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't want to talk about it." Mary replied stubbornly as she walked passed Sybil and scooped George out of his cot and into her arms.

Sybil didn't yet know what Sir Richard had done to cause Mary to react this way but she definatly wasn't going to give up.

"Tom told me, that you saw Sir Richard a couple of months ago." Sybil began, hoping this would persuade Mary to talk.

Mary was shocked, she had thought that Matthew and Tom were the only two people to know about that day.

"What?! What did he say?" She asked, clearly impatient to hear what her younger sister had to say.

"Only that he had been waiting for you and that he gave you a fright, he wouldn't tell me any more." She answered.

"I see..." Mary said, staring into thin air.

"Mary if you won't tell me what it is that is bothering you, perhaps I'll pay Sir Richard a visit and ask him myself because I don't like seeing you like this."

"Certainly not!" Mary replied suddenly in a much louder voice which caused little George to cry. "Don't go anywhere near that man. You don't know what he is capable of." she added before turning her attention to her son and stroking his hair to try to calm him down.

Sybil was surprised by her sister's reaction, she hadn't expected it. She didn't like seeing her like this, and she didn't really want to ask her all these questions when she very clearly didn't want to be asked them but she was doing it for Mary more than for herself.

"No, I don't know what he is capable of, so why don't you tell me?" she continued, awaiting an answer.

Mary could see that her sister wasn't going to back down. Sybil was just as stubborn as she was so she knew that if she didn't tell her now, she would end up finding out sooner or later.

"Alright, you win." Mary began as she placed George back in his cot before taking a seat.

Sybil was quite pleased with herself and took a seat on Lily's bed opposite Mary and listened carefully to what she had to say.

Mary took a deep breath and explained everything, down to the last detail.

"So now you see. I can't do anything or go anywhere without looking over my shoulder and I certainly cannot leave George whilst Richard is still out there." Mary sighed before swallowing and looking up at Sybil who was shocked at what she had just heard.

"Oh Mary, I- I don't know what to say." she said. "I had no idea it was anything this serious. What did he mean when he told you that he hoped Matthew was the hero you thought he wa-" but before she could finish her sentence, she stopped for a second and he eyes opened wider as she realised what exactly he had meant.

Mary looked at Sybil and realised she had understood. Sybil stared up at her sister and her lips parted.

"The fire?" Sybil whispered.

Mary simply stared back at Sybil and all of a sudden she understood, everything made sense.

"We must telephone the police." Sybil said straight away without even thinking.

"No." Mary answered which only confused Sybil. "If we inform the police, he will only twist the truth and we don't even have any proof. We must prove that it was him before we can go to the police."

"But how do you suggest we do that?" Sybil asked.

Just then, Matthew entered the nursery and stared at Mary as though he had something important to tell her.

"What is it?" Mary asked.

"I think I might know who set the fire." He replied quickly.

Mary and Sybil both stared at him.

"What?" Mary asked. "I know who it was." She revealed.

"How can you?" He asked, confused. "Has Carson already told you?" He asked as he walked over to where she was standing.

"Told me what? I don't need Carson to tell me who is responsable for this. Richard practically told me himself." she replied.

"What? Have you spoken to him recently?!" Matthew asked, shocked.

"No, of course not, I don't want anything more to do with him. But the last time I saw him, he told me to keep George close to me and to watch out because he was watching me. If that wasn't a threat I don't know what is." she explained.

"Well at least you haven't seen him since, that's a relief..." he began. "But you don't understand, you see, Carson has informed me that the footman, Andrew was alone in the house the night of the fire and he left Downton that same night without telling anyone where he was going." he told her.

After hearing this, Mary didn't know what to think anymore, it all sounded rather suspicious but she was almost certain Richard was behind it.

"Andrew?" Sybil asked, confused as to why he would do such a thing - he always seemed rather shy but pleasant.

"Yes, the footman with the ginger hair, you know, the one who arrived almost two months ago." Matthew clarified.

"Yes, yes I do know who you're talking about, but he just doesn't seem the type." She replied.

Just then their attention was diverted to Lily who had been listening carefully to their conversation.

"Red haired man." She whispered as she played with her toys.

"What was that darling?" Sybil asked as she crouched down by her daughter.

"We were scared and we were crying and he saved us." Lily continued, but she wasn't making much sense and they couldn't quite understand what she was trying to say.

"Lily, who was scared?" Mary asked softly as she approached her niece.

"Me and George." She replied without taking her eyes off of her toys.

Mary turned to Sybil who was beginning to understand.

"Darling, was this during the fire?" Sybil asked gently.

"Yes, I was scared and I screamed and a man with red hair picked me and George up and took us away." She explained which suddenly made the whole situation a little clearer.

"He must have been trying to save them." Sybil said as she turned to face Mary and Matthew.

"But why wouldn't he take them outside or telephone for help or try to put the fire out?" Mary asked as she tried to work out what had happened.

"The blanket..." Matthew said under his breath.

"What?" Mary asked as she turned to him for an answer.

Matthew looked up at them as if he had worked something out. "When Tom and I went into the nursery looking for the children, there was a blanket, on the floor covering some of the flames." he remembered. "It was as though it had been thrown over the flames to keep them down."

Mary and Sybil listened carefully to what he was saying.

"He must have tried to keep the fire down." He said. "We need to find this man, it's the only chance we have of finding out how this happened." he added.

"But how are we to find him?" Sybil asked.

"I'll ask Carson, he must have an address for him or something that might lead us to him." Mary decided.

"Good idea, I just hope we find him..." Matthew said.

* * *

><p>"Ah Daisy, would you let Mr. Carson know that I would like to talk to him?" Mary asked the young kitchen maid.<p>

"Oh M'lady, yes of course." She replied before rushing off to find Carson.

"Daisy has told me you would like a word, M'lady?" The butler said as he approached Mary.

"Yes, if you have time that is?" She asked politely.

"Of course." He replied before gesturing towards his pantry.

Mary smiled appreciatively at him and followed him.

"What can I do for you M'lady?" He asked as he closed the door behind them.

"Well, it's about the footman, Andrew." She began.

"Ah." He said under his breath, knowing what she was about to ask.

"You see, Mr. Crawley has told me about your conversation earlier today and I wondered if you might have an address for Andrew. Or if you knew of any way we could find him." She explained, hoping that he would have something for her.

"I'd have to have a look through my things, but I'm sure I have something that may be of use to you." He replied which caused Mary to sigh in relief.

Carson smiled at her and walked over to his desk and picked up a small key. He used it to open a drawer which seemed to be full. He pulled out the neatly organised pack of papers and placed them on his desk. He rustled through them and pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper.

"Ah, I knew I still had this." He said happily as he handed it over to Mary. "I don't think I have his own address but this is the letter his aunt sent us when she was trying to find a job for her nephew. Her address is on the back, perhaps that could be of use?" he asked.

"This will do quite nicely, thank you Carson." She said as she smiled appreciatively at him.

"You're very welcome My Lady and if there is anything else I can do to be of assistance just let me know." He replied softly.

Mary looked at him for a second and then smiled at him again.

"You've always been there for me when I needed you the most, why is that? God knows I don't deserve it." She asked curiously.

Carson looked at her and sighed before answering.

"When you were just six years old, Nanny Green told you off for playing outside in the rain and getting your new dress dirty so you ran away from her with tears in your eyes, you wouldn't cry in front of her, or your sisters because you were taught never to cry in public because it was a sign of weakness, so you ran downstairs into the servants hall and can you remember where you went next?" he asked.

"I came in here, looking for you." She replied softly.

"Indeed you did." He confirmed. "You stood in front of me, your long dark messy hair hanging over your shoulders, wearing a stained navy blue dress with tears in your eyes and I said to you-"

"It's alright to cry in front of me Miss Mary, you can cry all you like in here and Nanny Green needn't find out." Mary said as she remembered the day she was encouraged to cry and not told off for it.

"Exactly." He said, smiling fondly at her.

"Thank you Carson." She repeated. "Thank you so very much."

"It's my pleasure, My Lady." He replied before watching her leave the room clutching the letter in her hand.

* * *

><p>The next day, Mary and Matthew got up early and followed the address to Andrew's aunt's house.<p>

"I hope she's in." Matthew said as he helped Mary out of the car.

"So do I, I haven't got up at this time for nothing." Mary replied and smiled playfully at Matthew who returned her smile.

They walked up to the front door together and Matthew knocked on it, hoping that she would answer.

"What was her surname?" He asked Mary remembering that he didn't know what to call her.

"How should I know?!" She replied.

"So we're on this woman's door step and we don't know her name, surname or her nephew very well." He concluded.

"Well don't look at me, I found the address, you should have found her name." Mary replied stubbornly with a hint of humour in her voice.

"Yes?" An older woman said as she opened the door and found Mary and Matthew waiting. "How can I help you?" She asked.

"Ah, good morning..." Matthew began. "I hope we're not disturbing you." He said.

"Not at all, I don't mind waking up to a pretty face." She replied smiling at Matthew.

"We are here about your nephew, Andrew." Mary said, cutting her off. "He worked for us as our footman at Downton Abbey for a while." She said.

"Oh of course. I should have guessed a man as smartly dressed as you lives at Downton." She replied, admiring Matthew. How is he Andrew? I haven't seen him lately." She asked but noticing the more serious expressions on Mary and Matthew's faces she began to feel a little worried. "He is alright isn't he?" She asked again.

"Well, we wouldn't know." Matthew replied.

"You see, the thing is, he left service a couple of days ago without telling anyone so we wondered if you might have an address for him or if you could inform us of his whereabouts." Mary explained before pursing her lips together and waiting for an answer.

"He left service?" The older woman asked, sounding a little confused.

Mary rolled her eyes and turned to Matthew.

"He did, could you tell us where we could find him?" Matthew asked again.

"If you'll wait here, I'll go get his address for you." She answered.

"Thank you, it would be most appreciated." Matthew replied.

"It's my pleasure sir." She replied before smiling at him again.

The old woman closed the door behind her and went back inside to find her nephew's address.

"How rude!" Mary exclaimed, clearly shocked that she hadn't asked them in and that she had just left them waiting on her door step.

"Oh Mary, at least she is getting us what we came for." Matthew said.

"I know but honestly." She sighed.

Matthew just smiled, he found it rather amusing when she got wound up over nothing. She wasn't a morning person and was often quite groggy until luncheon.

A few moments later she returned to the door with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Here it is." She said with a smile on her face as she handed the paper over to Matthew.

But she stared at him too long for Mary's liking. "Alright, thank you for your help." She said as she took the paper from Matthew's hand.

"You're very welcome." The older woman replied.

"Goodbye." Mary said harshly before practically pulling Matthew away.

Matthew stared at Mary as she got back into the car and laughed at her.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"You're in a rather bad mood today." He answered, still smiling at her.

"I do think I am." She replied. "That woman took quite a shine to you." She added.

"So that's what's the matter." He replied in a joking voice.

"What's so funny?" She asked, wondering why he was laughing.

"My darling, no woman comes close to being as beautiful, as kind and as clever as you. I could never love any woman as much as I love you." He said truthfully, looking her in the eye.

Mary felt rather guilty now, she didn't know what to say. She simply smiled at him and hoped he understood just how much she loved him.

"I love you Matthew Crawley." She said softly.

"And I love you, so very much my darling." He replied.

* * *

><p>When they arrived in front of Andrew's house, they stayed in the car for a minute before getting out.<p>

"This man may have been responsable for the fire." Mary said.

"Perhaps he was, and if so, we will make sure he pays for what he has done, but you mustn't forget what Lily said; he saved her and George's life by putting them in another room.

"But he could have killed them both and what about Nanny? - She's still in hospital." She replied. She couldn't help but feel unsure about going to see this man, but she had to know if he was behind the incident, or if it was Sir Richard's doing.

"How about we go in, and find out?" Matthew suggested.

Mary took a deep breath before nodding her head and stepping out of the car.

Together they waited for an answer at the door. Suddenly it opened and Andrew appeared. Seeing Mary and Matthew in front of him, he knew exactly why they were there.

"I can explain, I can explain everything!" He said as he opened the door a little wider allowing them to enter his house.

"Do you mean to say you played a part in it?" Matthew asked, suddenly feeling rather angry. It was only then he realised that the man that stood in front of him could have killed his only son.

"Would you like to sit down?" Andrew asked, his hands shaking with fear.

"No, we would like you to tell us what exactly happened that night." Matthew said, trying to stay calm.

Mary just stood by Matthew and listened, she didn't know what to say and it wasn't often she was left speechless.

Andrew took a deep breath and began explaining what had happened.

"I never wanted to start that fire. I swear. It wasn't my idea." He began.

"So it was you. You could have killed my son and my niece!" Matthew shouted as he pushed the younger man, who was clearly terrified up against the wall.

"Matthew! Let go of him!" Mary screamed. She didn't like violence, she never thought that it solved anything. Richard had been violent towards her so she knew what it was like.

Matthew suddenly realised he was in the wrong and slowly backed away from Andrew and straightened his composure.

"You said it wasn't your idea." Mary began having listened carefully to what he had to say. "If it wasn't yours then who's was it?" She asked. Although she had asked the question, she already knew the answer.

Andrew hesitated a moment before answering. "Sir Richard Carilsle." he said.

Mary closed her eyes for a second to take in what she had just heared. She wasn't surprised of course, but it was still a shock to have it confirmed.

"But please, you musn't tell him I have told you." Andrew added, clearly terrified of what he might do to him if he found out that he had told someone about it.

"What exactly did he ask you to do? What happened?" Matthew asked, after having calmed down a little.

Andrew swallowed and stared at the ground as he answered. "He told me he wanted to hurt and humiliate you just as much as you hurt him..." He began. "He told me that you would be away in London for the night and that he wanted me to set fire to the nursery..." He took a deep breath before continuing. "As soon as he mention the fire, I immediately refused but he threatened me so I had no choice."

"No choice?! Of course you had a choice!" Matthew said, raising his voice again.

"Matthew, please." Mary whispered as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I took a sheet from my room and pushed it up against the nursery door, I took a match and I..." He closed his eyes as though he was replaying the scene in his head. "I didn't want to. I regretted it straight away, I never wanted to harm anyone, I promise. I went back to the nursery and took the children into another room, where I thought they would be safe until someone arrived, I wanted to telephone the firemen but the wires had been cut..." He explained.

Mary and Matthew stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Andrew turned to Mary. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I didn't want to. I've felt ill for two days, I don't know what happened once I left." He said and then suddenly a thought came to him. "How are the children? And the Nanny?" He asked in a worried voice.

"The children are both fine. You got them out of there in time." Mary replied.

"Oh thank god." He said, looking genuinly relieved.

"The Nanny on the other hand breathed in quite a lot of smoke and is still in hospital." Matthew added.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I swear I never wanted to do any of this, he made me." He said.

"I believe you." Mary replied which shocked both Andrew and Matthew.

Matthew turned to her for answers.

"I know what it's like to live in fear, in fear of a strong and powerful man. If Richard doesn't get his own way, he turns to violence and although I find it hard to admit, I have been a victim of his and so it seems has Andrew." Mary said bravely, holding back her tears.

At that moment Matthew realised how much of an impact Richard had had on her life. Mary never admits defeat and she certainly never wants to be thought of as a victim so to admit something like that, she must have really been afraid of Richard. Matthew sighed and took Mary into his arms and held her tightly to let her know that he was there for her.

After a minute she pulled away from Matthew and looked him in the eyes for answers. "What should we do?" She asked.

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><p><em>End of chapter 7. Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. Please don't be afraid to let me know what you thought. <strong>Suggestions and ideas for the next chapter are welcome as I have not yet finished writing it :)x<strong>_


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